Results for all 10 abortion ballot measures

In the years since the federal right to abortion was struck down by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority in 2022, no measure protecting abortion (or rejecting new restrictions) has ever lost at the ballot box. That winning streak came to an end on Tuesday Amendment 4which would enshrine the right of access to abortion Floridaand guaranteeing access to the entire South, remained just below the 60 percent threshold. For now, Florida’s six-week abortion ban remains in effect.

A similar attempt in South Dakota was overwhelmingly rejected by voters, with nearly 60 percent voting against a proposal to recognize the right to abortion statewide. There is currently a total ban on abortion in the state. And inside Nebraskawhere dueling measures were placed on the ballot – one to restore the right to abortion, and one that would maintain the current twelve-week ban – voters opted to keep their current ban in place.

In the seven other states where abortion was on the ballot, voters expanded healthcare protections. The outcomes of these races will have enormous consequences for millions of women living in those states and neighboring states Missouriwhere voters overturned a total ban on abortion.

What does the ballot measure entail? Proposition 139 would amend the state constitution to recognize that Arizonans have a fundamental right to abortion before fetal viability. After viability, the law would protect abortions “to protect the life or health of the pregnant person.” The amendment would also ban laws that seek to punish someone who helps someone else obtain an abortion.

What is the law now? Abortion is currently banned in Arizona after 15 weeks. The state mandates, among other things, a 24-hour waiting period to obtain an abortion, and a medically unnecessary ultrasound other restrictions. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority allowed an even more restrictive ban — a blanket ban on abortion passed in 1864 — to take effect. The Republican-controlled Legislature only repealed the ban — after initially refusing to consider it twice — under enormous public pressure.

Editor’s Choices

Result: Proposition 139 passedwith 61.7 percent of voters in favor and only 38.3 percent against.

What does the ballot measure entail? Amendment 79 would amend the Colorado Constitution to recognize a “right to abortion” and to prohibit state and local governments from “denying, obstructing, or discriminating against the exercise of that right.” It would also allow public insurance plans to provide coverage for abortions.

What is the law now? Abortion is currently legal in Colorado, but there is an existing ban on Medicaid coverage of abortion. Minors must also obtain parental consent before having an abortion.

Result: Amendment 79 has been adoptedwith Colorado voting to protect access to abortion through the state constitution and lifting a four-decade ban on using public money to pay for abortions. The vote was 60.9 percent in favor when The Associated Press mentioned this.

Florida

What does the ballot measure entail? Amendment 4 proposes adding language to the Florida Constitution to ensure that the state cannot “prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before it is viable or when necessary to protect the health of the patient.” ” The measure also explicitly states that it would do nothing to limit the state’s authority to require parental notice prior to an abortion.

What is the law now? Florida currently bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest and threats to the health of pregnant women up to fifteen weeks. There are a host of additional restrictions on the books: the state requires in-person counseling, a 24-hour waiting period, and medically unnecessary ultrasounds before an abortion. Minors are required to inform their parents and obtain their consent before terminating a pregnancy. Telemedicine abortion care and the mailing of abortion pills are both prohibited; the abortion pill can only be provided in person. Only doctors are allowed to perform abortions, and the state also has a number of targeted restrictions on abortion providers, or TRAP laws, on the books.

Related content

Result: Amendment 4 faileddespite the support of 57 percent of voters. That’s because ballot measures in Florida require 60 percent support — and also thanks to Governor Ron DeSantis waging an unprecedented state-sponsored campaign to defeat the measure.

What does the ballot measure entail? Question 1 proposes to amend the state constitution to guarantee Marylanders’ reproductive freedom, including “the ability to make and carry out decisions to prevent, continue, or terminate one’s own pregnancy.”

What is the law now? Abortion is legal in Maryland up to the point where the fetus is viable, and beyond if there is a fetal abnormality or if continuing the pregnancy would endanger the life or health of the pregnant person. Minors are required to notify a parent or guardian before an abortion.

Result: Question 1 was approved by Maryland voters by a landslide, with more than 70 percent of the state’s voters voting in favor. The result far exceeded the 50 percent majority needed to pass.

Missouri

What does the ballot measure entail? Amendment 3 proposes to amend the Missouri Constitution to recognize a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including “the right to make and execute decisions on all matters relating to reproductive health care, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage care and respectful birth conditions.” Under the amendment, state lawmakers would be allowed to regulate abortion after it has become viable, but would not be allowed to pass laws that would “deny, delay or limit” care at any time if the physical or mental health or life of the pregnant woman person would be in danger. is in danger.

What is the law now? Missouri has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the entire country. Abortion is prohibited at all stages of pregnancy, without exceptions. Instead of an exception, the law says that anyone charged or criminally charged for obtaining an abortion can provide an “affirmative defense” that the abortion in question was performed because of a “medical emergency” and that intervention was necessary to prevent death or significant consequences. and irreversible bodily harm.

Result: Amendment 3 was adoptedwith Missouri voting to enshrine abortion in the state’s constitution, overturning the state’s near-total ban. It won 54 percent to 46 percent when The Associated Press called the race.

What does the ballot measure entail? The proposal would amend the Montana Constitution to guarantee the right to “make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion” through the point of fetal viability. The state would have the power to regulate abortion after it has become viable, with the exception of abortions necessary “to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient.”

What is the law now? Abortion is currently prohibited after fetal viability, approximately 24 to 26 weeks of pregnancy, and Montana has a parental notification law on the books.

Result: Voters approved it Amendment 128with more than 57 percent voting in favor of protection.

Nebraska

What does the ballot measure entail? Dueling measures are on the ballot in Nebraska. Initiative 434backed by anti-abortion groups, would essentially uphold the current abortion ban in the state constitution, banning abortions after the first trimester except in cases of rape, incest or a medical emergency. Initiative 439on the other hand, the Nebraska Constitution would be amended to establish a “fundamental right to abortion until the viability of the fetus” and thereafter, if necessary, to protect the life or health of the pregnant person.

What is the law now? Abortion is currently prohibited after twelve weeks in Nebraska and there is a 24-hour waiting period. Abortion via telemedicine is also prohibited, and minors must obtain parental consent before an abortion other restrictions.

Result: Initiative 434which aimed to maintain the current ban, was approved by 55 percent of voters. Initiative 439that would have created a constitutional right to access abortion fell short; 48 percent of voters voted in favor of the measure, and 51 percent against.

What does the ballot measure entail? Question 6 Proposes to amend the Nevada Constitution to recognize the right to abortion based on fetal viability while recognizing that the state has the authority to regulate abortion beyond that point, except in cases where a health care provider deems it necessary to “protect the life or health of the pregnant woman.” patient.”

What is the law now? Abortion is currently banned in Nevada after 24 weeks.

Result: An overwhelming majority of voters supported Question 6. The measure passed by a vote of more than 63 percent support.

What does the ballot measure entail? Proposal 1If passed, the Equal Protection Amendment to New York Law would be amended to specify that New Yorkers cannot be denied rights on the basis of their sex, “including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive health care and autonomy.” (The law already protects against discrimination based on “race, color, creed or religion.”)

What is the law now? Abortion is currently banned in New York after 24 weeks of gestation or the point at which the fetus is viable.

Result: Proposition 1 was approved by voters by a wide margin, with more than two-thirds of New York voters voting in favor.

South Dakota

What does the ballot measure entail? Amendment G would prohibit the state government from regulating abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy, permit regulation in the second trimester that is “reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman,” and regulate or prohibit abortion in the third trimester except when that is necessary ‘to maintain the health of the pregnant woman’. the life and health of the pregnant woman.”

Popular stories

What is the law now? Abortion is currently banned in South Dakota at all stages of pregnancy. There is one exception: if an abortion is necessary to save the life of a pregnant person.

Result: Amendment G was defeated, with almost 60 percent of voters voting against the proposal.