When the US Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in June 2022, it ended the constitutional right to abortion and returned the ability to control the procedure to the states. Now, in the midst of a heated presidential election that led to Donald Trump’s victory, a number of states have voted to enshrine reproductive rights in their constitutions.
On Tuesday, Americans in 10 states voted on ballot initiatives to protect or expand access to abortion. Seven of those states successfully passed protective measures, underscoring the widespread unpopularity of restrictive abortion policies.
Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York passed referendums upholding abortion rights, while measures to restore or expand access failed in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota . Abortion is already legal until it is valid in Maryland, Montana and New York, and during pregnancy in Colorado without restrictions, so the passage of these measures will not change access to abortion in those states.
Nevada currently allows abortions at 24 weeks, but a ballot measure passed Tuesday would extend that until the baby is viable. Voters will have to approve the measure again in 2026 to officially amend the state constitution.
Arizona and Missouri were two of several states that moved to restrict access to abortion after the repeal of Roe v. Wade. Arizona has banned abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, but that law will be unconstitutional under a newly passed amendment. In Missouri, the trigger law banned abortions at all points in pregnancy, except to save the life of the pregnant person. The law, one of the strictest laws against abortion in the region, did nothing but rape or sleeping with relatives. But on Tuesday, voters supported an amendment that would end that ban and amend the Missouri constitution to protect access to abortion.
In Florida, an amendment that would have outlawed abortion laws received 57 percent of the vote, short of the 60 percent it needed to pass. The state currently prohibits abortion at six weeks of pregnancy, and enforces other restrictions on abortion.
Meanwhile, Nebraska voters weighed competing ballot measures on abortion rights, ultimately passing a ban on abortion after the 12th week of pregnancy. Voters in South Dakota rejected a proposal to protect abortion rights, maintaining a near-total ban there.
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