DemDaily: Abortion On The Ballot
October 9, 2024
When Americans go to the polls November 5 they will cast their votes not just for candidates but, in 10 states, for the future of reproductive rights.
Since the US Supreme Court's June 2022 decision overturning abortion protections in Roe v. Wade, most Republican-controlled states have new abortion restrictions in effect, including 13 banning it at every stage of pregnancy. Most Democratic-led states have laws or executive orders to protect access.
Voters in seven states -- California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont — have passed abortion rights measures since 2022. In 2023's highest profile initiative, voters in The Buckeye State resoundingly passed Issue One, 56.6% to 43.4% -- becoming the first Republican-led state to enshrine reproductive rights in its constitution.
| All states, with the exception of Delaware, require voters to ratify proposed state constitutional amendments. Just twenty-six states and DC, however, grant their citizens amendment, statute and/or veto referendum power through initiatives -- providing them with a direct form of democracy and critical tool for enacting political change. |
Reproductive Freedom Initiatives on the Ballot in 2024
Ten states — Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York and South Dakota — have abortion measures on the 2024 ballot.
Arizona Proposition 139: Sponsor: by Arizona for Abortion Access. The amendment would allow for abortion care up until the point of fetal viability, somewhere between 24 and 26 weeks. Coalition members submitted more than 820,000 petition signatures — more than double the number of signatures required. Status: Abortion is currently banned at 15 weeks in the state. Passage: A simple majority (50%+).
Colorado Amendment 79: Sponsor: Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom. The measure would enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution and cover abortion services under health insurance plans for Colorado state and local government employees and for enrollees in state and local governmental insurance programs. Approximately 240,000 signatures supporting the petition were submitted -- over 100,000 more than required and possibly a statewide record. Status: Abortion is not restricted based on gestational duration. Passage: 55% of the vote in order to succeed.
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Status: Under the state's new law, which took effect May 1, abortion is illegal after the first six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant. Passage: Florida has the highest threshold in the country for ballot measures to pass: 60%.
The battle over Amendment 4 is the most expensive abortion measure of 2024, with close to $70 million raised by both parties -- at least $60 million of which was brought in by proponents.
Illinois Advisory Question 1: In lieu of traditional ballot initiatives, Illinois conducts non-binding advisory questions that can serve to inform voters’ support for future policy. The legislatively referred question is: Should all medically appropriate assisted reproductive treatments, including, but not limited to, in vitro fertilization, be covered by any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides coverage for pregnancy benefits, without limitation on the number of treatments? Status: Abortion is legal through viability in Illinois.
Maryland Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative: The legislatively-referred measure would add the right to an abortion to the Declaration of Rights section in the state constitution, asserting that every individual “has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom.” Status: Abortion is not restricted based on gestational duration. Passage: A simple majority (50%+).
Missouri Amendment 3: Sponsor: Missourians for Constitutional Freedoms. The measure would amend the Missouri Constitution to provide the right for reproductive freedom, and provide that the state legislature may enact laws that regulate abortion after fetal viability. The coalition submitted over 380,000 signatures -- more than twice the required number. Status: Abortion is currently banned in Missouri at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions. Passage: A simple majority (50%+).
| Status of the States: According to the Guttmacher Institute, 13 states have a total abortion ban, eight states ban abortion at or before 18 weeks gestation, and 20 states ban abortion at some point after 18 weeks. In nine states and the District of Columbia, abortion is legal without gestational limits. |
Montana Constitutional Initiative 128: Sponsor: Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights. Amend the state constitution to provide a "right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion," up to the point of viability. The campaign submitted a record-breaking 117,000 signatures -- nearly double the requirement. Status: Abortion is allowed in Nebraska until viability. Passage: A simple majority (50%+).
Nebraska: There are two competing abortion-related initiatives in Nebraska, where abortion is banned after 12 weeks:
Initiative 439: Sponsor: The Protect Our Rights campaign. The ballot measure would constitutionally protect abortion until fetal viability or to save the pregnant person’s life or health. The campaign turned in 207,000 signatures, the most in state history.
Initiative 434: Sponsor: Protect Women and Children. The anti-abortion countermeasure would enshrine the current 12-week abortion ban in the constitution, with limited exceptions for rape, incest, and to protect the life of the patient.
State law dictates that if both initiatives pass, which require a simple majority, then the measure that earns the most votes will supersede the other on all points of conflict. Nebraskans will need to vote FOR Initiative 439 and AGAINST Initiative 434 in order to protect abortion rights in their state.
Nevada Question 6: Sponsor: The Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom. The ballot initiative would establish a state’s constitutional right to an abortion -- up to the point of fetal viability, or to protect the life or health of a pregnant person. The campaign submitted more than 200,000 petition signatures -- nearly double the 102,000 required. Status: Abortion is legal through viability. Passage: A simple majority (50%+).
New York Proposal 1: This legislatively-referred initiative would amend the Equal Rights Amendment of the New York Constitution to protect against discrimination for pregnancy, stating that a person’s rights cannot be denied due to “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy." Status: Abortion is legal up to 24 weeks into pregnancy. Passage: A simple majority (50%+).
South Dakota Constitutional Amendment G: Sponsor: Dakotans for Health submitted more than 55,000 signatures for The Right to Abortion Initiative, which would legalize abortion, with regulations, during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. Status: Abortion is banned in the state except to save the life of the mother. Passage: A simple majority (50%+).
| According to a June 20-24, 2024 AP/NORC survey of US Adults, about 6 in 10 adults say their state should allow a person to get a legal abortion for any reason. More than 8 in 10 adults continue to say their state should allow a legal abortion in cases where the pregnant person’s health is seriously endangered, a fetal abnormality would prevent the child from surviving outside the womb, or if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest. |
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Sources: Ballotpedia, CNN, BISC, AP, New York Times, Guttmacher, Forbes
