Voters Approve State Constitutional Amendments to Enshrine Abortion Rights

11.06.2024

Measures to protect abortion access approved in Colorado, Arizona, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York.

©Eric Kayne/AP Images for the Center for Reproductive Rights


Yesterday, millions of people voted to enshrine the right to abortion in their state constitutions, approving amendments in seven of 10 states where measures were on the ballot.

In the states with abortion bans and severe restrictions, the amendments will provide a basis for challenging those limitations. In other states, where abortion is legal, amendments will prevent the threat of future interference by state and local governments.

Win in Missouri Could Provide Access Point in the Midwest, While the Southeast’s Abortion Desert Remains

An especially critical amendment approval came in Missouri, where abortion is banned—marking the first time voters in a state with a total abortion ban have successfully amended their constitution to protect reproductive freedom. “This is an especially historic win for Missouri. . . Voters have demanded the return of the essential human rights and freedoms they lost after Roe was overturned,” said Nancy Northup, President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights.

In Florida, which bans abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy, the measure received 57% of the vote, just short of the 60% threshold needed to pass. As a result, Floridians “must continue to live with the fear, uncertainty, and denial of care caused by the reversal of Roe,” said Northup. “So too will countless women in the southeastern U.S., which will remain for now a virtual abortion desert.”

 

The main takeaways:

• Voters in seven of 10 states approved amendments to enshrine abortion rights into their state constitutions.
• The amendments will provide a basis to challenge abortion restrictions and prevent future interference by state and local governments.
• Missouri amendment approval could provide a Midwest abortion access point.
• The Southeast remains an abortion desert as the Florida measure failed to reach the 60% threshold.

Other highlights include amendments:

• Approved in Arizona, which currently bans abortion at 15 weeks;
• Approved in New York, Colorado, Maryland, Montana and Nevada, where abortion is legal, adding an extra layer of protections;
• Not approved in South Dakota, where abortion is banned, and in Nebraska, which bans abortion at 12 weeks.

“The terrible harms of abortion bans have become clearer by the day—and they’ve helped to galvanize Americans to come out and demand their reproductive freedom,” said Elisabeth Smith, the Center’s Director of State Policy and Advocacy.

“We’re proud to have been part of the successful campaign in Colorado, and thank all the people who worked tirelessly in each of the states,” added Smith. “In Florida, although the measure just fell short, advocates did an incredible job on the ground in raising funds, galvanizing volunteers and voters, fighting legal battles, and so much more.”

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s devastating decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and take away the federal constitutional right to abortion, in 14 of 17 states, voters have come out in favor of abortion rights. In 11 of the 14 states, state constitutions were successfully amended to protect abortion rights.

“This year’s results are just more evidence that we need a federal law that protects abortion rights nationwide,” added Smith. “Reproductive freedom should not depend on where you live.”

With a Trump Presidency, Greater Threats to Reproductive Freedoms Expected

On both the domestic and international fronts, an anti-rights agenda risks progress made on gender equality, reproductive rights, and access to health care.

Here are the amendment results for each state:

• PASSED Arizona: The voter-initiated Proposition 139, the Arizona Abortion Access Act, will amend the state constitution to create a “fundamental right” to receive abortion care up until fetal viability, with exceptions after that if a health care professional decides it’s needed to “protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.”
• PASSED Colorado: The citizen-led Colorado Right to Abortion and Health Insurance Coverage Initiative will create a constitutional right to abortion and remove the state’s public funding ban.
• Did not pass Florida: The state’s citizen-led ballot initiative, the Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion, would have created a constitutional amendment to protect Floridians’ freedom to access abortion. The measure received 57% of the vote, but fell short of the 60% threshold needed to pass.
• PASSED Maryland: Maryland voters passed the Reproductive Freedom referendum, which will amend the state’s constitution to ensure that everyone has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the right to abortion access and birth control.
• PASSED Missouri: Abortion is currently banned in Missouri, but voters passed Amendment 3, the Missouri Right to Reproductive Freedom. The voter-initiated measure will amend the state constitution to make abortion and other reproductive health care a fundamental right.
• PASSED Montana: Montana’s voter-initiated Right to Abortion Initiative, CI-128, amends the state constitution to enshrine the “right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion.”
• Did not pass Nebraska: The citizen-led Nebraska Right to Abortion Initiative would have enshrined in the state constitution the right to have an abortion until viability or later to protect the health of the pregnant woman. A conflicting proposal barring abortions in the second and third trimesters, with exceptions for medical emergency, sexual assault and incest, passed.
• PASSED Nevada: Nevada Question 6, the Right to Abortion Initiative, amended the state constitution to provide the right to an abortion. The voter-initiated measure allows the state to regulate abortion after fetal viability, except where medically indicated to “protect the life or health of the pregnant patient.”
• PASSED New York: Proposition 1, the New York State Equal Rights Amendment, will add protections for people who experience discrimination and explicitly prohibit discrimination by the government based on pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes. It will also protect against any government actions that would curtail a person’s reproductive autonomy or their access to reproductive health care.
• Did not pass South Dakota: Abortion is currently illegal in South Dakota. The voter-initiated South Dakota Freedom Amendment called to “restore protections of Roe v. Wade” and establish a right to abortion before 12 weeks of pregnancy.

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