- Since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, most Republican-controlled states have enacted new abortion restrictions, and 14 have banned it at every stage of pregnancy.
- Voters in 7 states have sided with abortion rights supporters on ballot measures.
- It’s not yet clear how many states will vote on measures to preserve abortion access in November.
South Dakota Advocates submitted petitions Wednesday in their effort to amend the state Constitution to include the right to abortion, at least in some circumstances.
Signatures are also expected to be placed on the ballot in Missouri on Friday.
The efforts in both states are part of a movement to raise the question of abortion rights to voters US Supreme Court Overturned Roe v. Wade and removed the nationwide right to abortion.
Outspoken pro-abortion governor gets chance to speak at Vatican summit
Since that 2022 decision, new abortion restrictions are in effect in most Republican-controlled states, including 14 states that ban it at every stage of pregnancy. Most Democrat-dominated states have laws or executive orders to protect access.
Additionally, voters in seven states – California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont – have sided with abortion rights supporters on ballot measures.
It’s not yet clear how many states will vote on measures to ensure abortion access in November. In some, the question is whether amendment supporters can get enough valid signatures. In others, it is up to the legislature. And in some states there are legal implications in this process.
Some attempts to access ballots have already failed. Wisconsin’s legislative session ended without a state Senate vote on a measure the House had approved asking voters to ban abortion after 14 weeks. Iowa lawmakers did not approve a measure before the session ended this year to ask voters whether there is a constitutional right to abortion; Pennsylvania lawmakers previously introduced a similar amendment, but it is not expected to appear on the ballot there this year. A measure in Louisiana to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution died in committee, and a measure in Maine effectively died when it fell short of receiving two-thirds House approval.
Protesters shout as they join thousands of people marching around the Arizona Capitol following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision in Phoenix on Friday, June 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
What’s safely on the 2024 ballots?
Florida
The state Supreme Court ruled on April 1 that a ballot measure could be put on the ballot to legalize abortion up to viability, despite a legal challenge from state Attorney General Ashley Moody, who argued that the meaning of “viability” varies. There are ideas and key terms in some of the proposed measures are not well defined.
Advocates collected nearly one million signatures to place a state constitutional amendment on the ballot to legalize abortion until viability, more than the approximately 892,000 needed.
Sixty percent of voters would have to agree to make it effective.
Abortion is illegal in Florida after the first six weeks of pregnancy under a law that took effect May 1.
maryland
Maryland voters this year will also be asked whether to enshrine the right for women to terminate their pregnancies in the state constitution in a ballot measure put before them by lawmakers last year. The state already protects the right to abortion under state law and Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1. Abortion is permitted in Maryland until viability.
New York
New York lawmakers agreed to ask voters to bar discrimination based on pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and reproductive health care as part of the sweeping Equal Protection Amendment. It would also prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin and disability. The language of the constitutional amendment does not specifically mention abortion. New York law allows abortion until viability.
Where else could abortion be on the ballot in 2024?
arizona
Signature campaign underway to add constitutional rights abortion in arizona, Under the measure, states would not be able to ban abortion until the fetus is viable, with later abortions permitted to protect the woman’s physical or mental health. Supporters must collect approximately 384,000 valid signatures by July 4.
Abortion is currently legal for the first 15 weeks of pregnancy in Arizona. An Arizona Supreme Court decision in April said enforcement could begin soon for the almost complete ban already in place on the books. But on Thursday, the governor signed a bill repealing that law, which is still expected to remain in effect for some time.
arkansas
Supporters of the amendment allowing abortion in many cases have until July 5 to gather about 91,000 valid signatures to put it on the November 5 ballot. The measure would block laws banning abortion in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and later in cases of rape, incest, a threat to the woman’s health or life, or if the fetus would be unlikely to survive birth. Will allow abortion. Because it allows a limit of up to 20 weeks, the proposal does not have the support of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which includes Arkansas. The state bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy with a few exceptions.
colorado
Advocates for a ballot measure to add constitutional protections for abortion, including requiring Medicaid and private health insurers to cover it, have signed on to put it on the ballot. The Secretary of State’s office has until May 17 to determine if there are enough valid signatures. More than 124,000 are needed.
Amending the state constitution requires support from 55% of voters.
Those who supported the dueling measure – a law to ban abortion – did not sign it, and the measure will not go before voters.
Abortion is legal in Colorado at all stages of pregnancy.
missouri
Missouri advocates for abortion access are expected to collect more than 171,000 signatures on Friday, two days before their deadline to ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment to guarantee abortion until viability Could.
A group of moderate Republicans this year abandoned efforts for an alternative amendment that would have allowed abortion up to 12 weeks and beyond, with only limited exceptions.
Missouri currently bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy with limited exceptions.
Montana
Abortion rights supporters in Montana have proposed a constitutional amendment that would prevent the government from denying the right to an abortion before viability or if necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person. After a legal battle over ballot language, on April 1 the Montana Supreme Court wrote its own version of language that would appear on the ballot if supporters collected more than 60,000 signatures by June 21. Abortion until viability is legal in Montana under the 1999 Montana Act. Supreme Court’s opinion.
nebraska
Advocates are trying to collect the roughly 125,000 signatures needed by July 5 to put a constitutional amendment before voters to protect abortion rights until a fetus is viable. A competing petition effort would add a constitutional amendment that mirrors a law adopted last year that bans abortion after 12 weeks with some exceptions.
nevada
Signatures are being collected to place an abortion access amendment on Nevada’s ballot in November. Under the amendment, access to abortion before or after the first 24 weeks of pregnancy to protect the health of the pregnant person, which is already guaranteed under a 1990 law, will be included in the Constitution. More than 102,000 valid signatures are needed by June 26 to put the measure on the ballot. To change the Constitution, voters would need to approve it in both 2024 and 2026.
The measure is one of several efforts by Nevada abortion rights groups to get the ballot question before voters in 2024 or 2026.
Click here to get the Fox News app
South Dakota
South Dakota advocates said they have submitted more than 55,000 signatures — 20,000 more than required — to get a measure on the ballot that would loosen restrictions but not go as far as many abortion rights advocates would like. It would ban any restrictions on abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. It would allow the state to “regulate a pregnant woman’s decision to have an abortion and its implementation only in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.” A ban on abortion in the third trimester would be permitted, as long as it included exceptions for the life and health of the woman. Planned Parenthood is not supporting this measure.
The state now bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy with a few exceptions.
