Demonstrators rally in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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Ten states considered adding language guaranteeing abortion rights in their state constitutions during this year’s elections.
Voters in seven of the states approved the ballot questions. Three rejected them.
The results mean a dramatic redrawing of the map for abortion access in parts of the country. Half of the measures cement existing abortion protections that were already outlined in state law.
States that expanded access
In Missouri, which has one of the strictest abortion bans in the nation, voters approved an amendment that will guarantee abortion access up to the point of fetal viability, generally the 24th week of pregnancy.
Missouri was the first state to ban abortion – even in cases of rape and only with an exception for medical emergencies — after the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Abortion rights proponents gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures for a vote on the amendment to legalize abortion up to fetal viability, which is around 24 weeks.
In Arizona, voters approved a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights up to the point of viability in the state constitution, likely upending the state’s 15-week abortion law.
The measure also allows exceptions for abortions beyond the point of viability to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.
To qualify for ballots, supporters of the citizen-led initiative gathered over 800,000 signatures — more than double the required threshold — and raised $32 million — 25 times more than opponents raised.
States that rejected abortion amendments
Proponents of the proposal to add abortion rights to Florida’s constitution faced a tough challenge, with 60 percent approval required for passage and the state’s Republican leadership arrayed against it.
The vote means the state’s six-week abortion ban will stay in place. Abortion rights supporters worry it will delay care and endanger the lives of women.
The amendment’s failure leaves access tightly limited across the south where most states either ban abortion at any time during pregnancy or up to six weeks – when many people don’t know they are pregnant.
In Nebraska, voters backed the state’s 12-week abortion ban over a competing proposal to allow abortion until fetal viability.
The constitutional amendment bans abortions in the second and third trimesters, with some exceptions. It also allows lawmakers to further restrict abortion access.
A competing proposal to expand abortion rights failed to garner enough votes.
In South Dakota, voters rejected an abortion rights amendment, affirming one of the strictest abortion bans in the country. The only exception is to save the life of the woman. There are no exceptions for health, or pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.
Leslie Unruh is with Life Defense Fund, the group opposed to the South Dakota amendment. She says the difference came down to funding and organization.
“I’ve never ever seen people work in a campaign this hard. Door to door. Phone calling. Give sacrificially. It’s been really humbling for me to watch and to see this. I’ve been involved in a lot of politics over the years. This is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Wonderful,” she said.
States that codified already existing abortion rights
Colorado is already a regional hub for abortion access. Voters on Tuesday approved an amendment that would codify protections for abortion, including barring local governments from passing their own laws to try to restrict the procedure. It removes Colorado’s current constitutional ban against public funding for abortions, and it allows the state to cover the procedure under Medicaid and add it to state employee health plans.
In Nevada, abortion is one step closer to being constitutionally protected after voters approved a statewide ballot question, but the measure would need to pass again in 2026 to be fully approved.
The proposal would add language to the state constitution guaranteeing the right to an abortion until fetal viability. Abortion is already protected under Nevada law until viability under a 1990 ballot measure legalizing abortions under state law.
Though abortion is already legal in Maryland, voters there approved an amendment to make it extremely difficult for lawmakers in the future to pass a law that could limit reproductive care without violating the state constitution.
Montana’s approval of an abortion amendment won’t change the status quo — abortion access is already protected by a 1999 Montana Supreme Court precedent that found the state’s right to privacy protects the right to terminate a pregnancy.
Courts have upheld that precedent in recent years as the state’s Republican-majority government has attempted to restrict abortion.
Under the new amendment, the Montana Constitution will now explicitly prohibit the government from burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability — around the 24th week of pregnancy. The measure also guarantees abortion access post-viability to protect the pregnant person’s life or health.
In New York, New York voters approved an amendment designed to strengthen the legal backing for the state’s current access to abortion along with protections against various forms of discrimination.
The initiative was placed on the ballot by the Democratic-controlled Legislature as a response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade two years ago.
Although the amendment does not include the word “abortion,” it holds that no one can face discrimination due to “sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”
Contributors: Katherine Davis Young, KJZZ, Bente Birkeland, Colorado Public Radio, Regan McCarthy, WFSU, Scott Maucione, WYPR, Jason Rosenbaum, St. Louis Public Radio, Shaylee Ragar, Montana Public Radio, Elizabeth Rembert, Nebraska Public Media, Lucia Starbuck, KUNR, Ian Pickus, WAMC, Lee Strubinger, South Dakota Public Broadcasting
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