Voters in Missouri paved the way for reversing one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans in one of seven victories for abortion rights advocates, while Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota defeated similar constitutional amendments, leaving the ban in place.
Abortion rights amendments were also passed in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, and Montana. Nevada voters also approved the amendment, but they will need to pass it again by 2026 for it to take effect. Another law in New York prohibits discrimination based on “pregnancy outcomes.”
The findings include a first for the abortion landscape, which saw a seismic shift in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a ruling that ended the right to abortion nationwide and paved the way for bans to take effect in most Republican-controlled states. Countries.
They also came in the same election in which Republican Donald Trump won the presidency. Among his contradictory positions on abortion was his insistence that the issue was best left to the United States. However, the president can have significant influence on abortion policy through executive action.
Meanwhile, Missouri is expected to be the first state where a vote overturns a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with an amendment that would allow lawmakers to restrict abortions only past the point of fetal viability — which is usually considered beyond . 21 weeks, although there is no specific time frame.
But bans and other restrictive laws are not automatically repealed. Advocates must now ask the courts to strike down the laws to comply with the new amendment.
“Today, Missourians made history and sent a clear message: decisions about pregnancy, including abortion, birth control, and abortion care, are personal and private and should be left to patients and their families, not to politicians,” said Rachel Sweet, campaign director at Missourians for Constitutional Liberty. statement.
Nearly half of Missouri voters said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to AP VoteCast, a poll of more than 2,200 state voters. But only about 1 in 10 said abortion should be illegal in all cases; Nearly 4 in 10 said abortion should be illegal in most cases.
The ban remains in effect in three states after the vote
Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota became the first states since the overthrow of Roe in which abortion opponents won a ballot measure. Most voters supported Florida’s measure, but it fell short of the 60 percent needed to pass constitutional amendments in the state. Most states require a simple majority.
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The result was a political victory for Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican with a national profile, who directed state GOP money to the cause. His administration has also engaged in a campaign against the measure, with investigators questioning people who signed petitions to add it to the ballot and making threats to TV stations that aired a commercial supporting it.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national anti-abortion group SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement that the result is “a major victory for life in Florida and for our entire country,” praising DeSantis for leading the campaign against the measure.
The defeat makes permanent a shift in the Southern abortion landscape that began when the state’s six-week ban took effect in May. This removed Florida as an abortion destination for many women from neighboring states with a deeper ban, and also resulted in far more women traveling from the state to obtain an abortion. The closest states with looser restrictions are North Carolina and Virginia — hundreds of miles away.
“The truth is that a minority of voters in Florida decided not to adopt the Fourth Amendment because of the Florida Constitution,” said Lauren Brenzel, director of the Yes on 4 campaign, wiping away tears. “The fact is that a majority of Floridians just voted to end Florida’s abortion ban.”
In South Dakota, another state that bans abortion throughout pregnancy with some exceptions, the abortion measure’s defeat was even more decisive. It would have allowed some regulations regarding women’s health after 12 weeks. Because of these wrinkles, most national abortion rights groups did not support it.
Nebraska voters adopted a measure that would allow more restrictions on abortion and enshrine the state’s current 12-week ban, rejecting a competing measure that would have guaranteed abortion rights.
Other states have guaranteed abortion rights
The Arizona amendment would replace the current law that prohibits abortion after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. The new procedure guarantees the possibility of abortion until it is viable. The ballot measure there gained momentum after a state Supreme Court ruling in April concluded that the state could enforce a strict abortion ban adopted in 1864. Some GOP lawmakers joined with Democrats to repeal the law before it could be implemented.
In Maryland, the Abortion Rights Amendment is a legal change that won’t make an immediate difference in access to abortion in a state that already allows it.
It’s a similar situation in Missouri, where abortion is already legal until it’s viable.
The Colorado measure exceeded the 55% support needed to pass. Besides enshrining access, it also repeals a previous amendment that prohibited the use of state and local government funding for abortion, opening up the possibility of Medicaid and state employee insurance plans covering care.
The Equal Rights Act was also passed in New York, which the abortion rights group says will strengthen abortion rights. It does not contain the word “abortion” but prohibits discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy outcomes, reproductive health care and autonomy.” Sasha Ahuja, campaign director for New Yorkers for Equal Rights, called the result “a massive victory for all New Yorkers” and a vote against opponents who she says used misguided parental rights and anti-trans messaging to thwart the measure.
The results end a string of victories for abortion rights advocates
As of Tuesday, abortion rights advocates were victorious on all seven measures that have appeared on statewide ballots since Roe fell.
Abortion rights campaigns have a big advantage in fundraising this year. Their opponents’ efforts are focused on portraying the amendments as too extreme rather than portraying abortion as immoral.
Currently, 13 states apply the ban to all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions. Four more miscarriages in most cases are performed about six weeks into pregnancy — often before women even realize they are pregnant. Despite the ban, the number of monthly abortions in the United States has risen slightly, due to the increasing use of abortion pills and organized efforts to help women travel for abortions. However, advocates say the ban has reduced access, especially for low-income and minority residents in states that imposed the ban.
This issue resonates with voters. About a quarter said abortion policy was the most important factor for their vote, according to AP VoteCast, a comprehensive poll of more than 110,000 voters nationwide. Nearly half of the participants said it was an important factor, but not the most important factor. Just over 1 in 10 said it was a secondary factor.
The results of ballot initiatives that sought to overturn strict bans on abortion in Florida and Missouri were extremely important to a majority of voters in the states. The poll found that more than half of Florida voters considered the outcome of the amendment very important, while nearly 6 in 10 Missouri voters said the same.
