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Prosecuting abortion ballot measures: Missouri and Arizona expand rights as Florida vote falls short | US elections 2024

Posted on by Vanessa
Prosecuting abortion ballot measures: Missouri and Arizona expand rights as Florida vote falls short | US elections 2024

Americans in 10 states voted Tuesday on whether to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions.

In a major victory, Missouri voted to amend the state constitution to protect the right to abortion – a move that will make the state the first state since the Roe v. Wade case to end its near-total ban on abortion cancels.

This also applies to voters in the swing state of Arizona, which approved a ballot measure that would establish a fundamental right to abortion and prohibit the state from restricting or banning abortions before 24 weeks – a victory for activists who want to expand abortion rights aimed for beyond 15 weeks.

Similar decisions have been made in Montana – which upheld a 1999 state Supreme Court ruling that the constitutional right to privacy protects the right to an abortion from viability by a provider of the patient's choice – and in Nevada, a region around the Presidential battleground state added to list of major wins for abortion rights advocates.

Colorado, New York and Maryland have also passed measures to amend their state constitutions to protect abortion rights and cement blue states' status as abortion havens.

However, an attempt to lift a six-week ban failed in Florida, as did expanding protections in Nebraska and North Dakota.

Before Tuesday, seven states had held referendums on abortion, and abortion rights advocates won all of them before Florida broke their winning streak. The results of Tuesday's actions will not be the final word; States that vote to repeal bans will face litigation or legislation before those bans are lifted.

Arizona

In a major victory for abortion rights advocates in Arizona, a key battleground state in the presidential election, voters approved their ballot measure to establish a fundamental right to abortion and prohibit the state from restricting or banning fetal viability during abortion, about 24 weeks later the state constitution. Abortions are currently banned in the state after 15 weeks.

Colorado voters passed a measure to amend the state constitution to prevent the state government from denying, obstructing, or discriminating against individuals' “right to abortion.” The amendment also repeals a provision in the state constitution that prohibits public funding of abortions. There are currently no pregnancy restrictions on abortion rights in the state.

Florida broke a winning streak. A measure to repeal the state's six-week ban by enshrining abortion rights until practical in the state constitution had won a clear majority, 57% of the vote, as of the time it was reported by the Associated Press. However, it required 60% to pass, the highest hurdle of any vote.

Maryland voters approved a measure to amend the state constitution to affirm the individual's right to reproductive freedom, including but not limited to the ability to make and implement decisions to prevent, continue or terminate the individual's pregnancy. There are currently no pregnancy restrictions on abortion rights in the state.

Missouri

Voters decided to repeal the state's current, near-total ban on abortion and establish a constitutional guarantee of the “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” including abortion care until the fetus is viable.

Montana

Following a 1999 ruling by the state Supreme Court, abortion is currently legal in Montana – and voters decided to amend the state constitution to specifically include “the right to make and carry out decisions regarding one's own pregnancy.” . This includes the right to abortion until fetal viability or after fetal viability to protect a patient's life or health. Although there is no defined time frame, doctors say viability is somewhere around 24 weeks.

Nebraska

Nebraska was the only state with two competing ballot measures.

The first one to fail would have done so enshrined the right to abortion in the state constitution until it was feasible.

The second, passed, will solidify the current 12-week ban.

Nevada

Nevada has voted to amend its state constitution to protect the right to abortion up to viability or after viability in cases where a patient's health or life could be at risk.

In 2026, voters will still have to approve the ballot question to change the state constitution. The political action committee Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom organized the ballot initiative and collected enough signatures to put the question before voters. Although a 1990 state law requires abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, advocates in Nevada and elsewhere have pushed to strengthen abortion access after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

New York voters approved a measure to expand the state's anti-discrimination laws by adding protections against discrimination based on “sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and reproductive health,” among other measures. . It doesn't specifically refer to abortion, but advocates say the pregnancy-related language includes abortion protections. Abortion is protected in New York until the fetus is viable.

South Dakota

South Dakota voters rejected a proposal to add abortion rights protections to the state constitution. The result remains a state law that makes it a felony to perform an abortion except to save the mother's life. The ban came into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022 and allowed states to ban abortions.

South Dakota's measure was less sweeping than other abortion rights measures because it would have only protected the right to abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy.

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