Left-Wing Coalition Spent at Least $110 Million on Failed Florida Abortion Ballot Measure

A left-wing coalition spent $110 million backing a radical abortion measure in Florida that ultimately failed to pass, campaign finance data shows.

The group behind the abortion measure, called Floridians Protecting Freedom, spent “twice as much money as has ever been spent on any pro-abortion Amendment in America” on Amendment 4, Vote No on 4 Campaign spokeswoman Taryn Fenske pointed out in a statement. While most states require a simple majority to pass constitutional amendments, Florida requires 60 percent support — Amendment 4 narrowly failed with 57 percent support. 

Ten states had abortion on the ballot this election cycle, and out of those ten, Amendment 4 was the most expensive. It even dwarfed the state’s competitive Senate race between incumbent Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL), which was in the top ten most expensive Senate races this year, according to Open Secrets.

Nearly $131 million was raised for Amendment 4 in total, including $119 million in support of the amendment and $12 million against it, according to Open Secrets data last updated on November 1.

The $119 million raised in support of Amendment 4 accounts for more than a third of total funding raised for abortion measures across the country this cycle. Overall, committees support abortion raised $305 million compared to $96 million opposing the measures. Abortion measures themselves accounted for almost a third of all money raised by ballot measure committees this cycle, Open Secrets assessed. 

Open Secrets noted that support for Amendment 4 was “led by liberal dark money groups.”

The Tides Foundation, which is funded in part by leftist billionaire George Soros through his group Open Society Foundations, was a top donor to the coalition as of October 13, giving the group $3.4 million. Open Society Action Fund also gave at least $3 million, and Open Society Fund donated $500,000, data shows.  Arabella Advisors’ Sixteen Thirty Fund, a D.C.-based dark money group, donated at least $1 million to the coalition. Various Planned Parenthood affiliates and the ACLU of Florida also donated millions of dollars between them.

READ MORE: Abortion Measures Pass in Seven States, Fail in Three

Florida was notably the first state to reject an abortion measure since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, followed by Nebraska and South Dakota.

“Florida’s blueprint proved you can beat the Soros-backed, dark money, out-of-state abortionists with strong, vocal leadership willing to publicly stand for what’s right despite the arrows that come,” Fenske said. “Florida showed that you could persuade voters with truth and reason, educating them on the dangers of Amendment 4, and revealing its motives to undermine the American family.”

Before this election cycle, every single pro-abortion-related ballot measure since the fall of Roe had been successful. During the 2022 special elections, Kansans rejected a ballot measure that would have established that the state Constitution does not include a right to abortion. During the 2022 midterms, voters in California, Michigan, and Vermont codified abortion into their Constitutions. At the same time, voters in Montana rejected a ballot measure that would have given rights to babies born alive in botched abortions. Voters in Kentucky also rejected an amendment similar to the one in Kansas. Last November, Ohioans also voted to codify the supposed right to abortion in their state Constitution via Issue 1.

Ballot measures are particularly effective as an offensive weapon because they are basically irreversible: they change a state constitution, take precedence over laws passed by state legislatures, and can only be overturned by another ballot measure or a lengthy legal battle. The measures are typically propped up by left-wing organizations and affiliates with deep pockets — such as Planned Parenthood and the ACLU — out-of-state dark money groups, and billionaires with eugenicist leanings, oftentimes massively outspending pro-life organizations.

Amendment 4 amendment would have undone the state’s six-week abortion limit and basically create a permanent right to abortion in the state. The abortion measure also essentially allowed for abortions throughout pregnancy under certain conditions.

Amendment 4 would have barred the state from restricting abortion before viability, approximately 24 weeks, or later in pregnancy “as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”

It read:

No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.

The passage of the amendment would have likely made Florida an abortion destination state, with states in the surrounding region significantly restricting abortion early in pregnancy.