WEDNESDAY, Nov. 6, 2024 (HealthDay News) — In election results that showed protecting women’s reproductive freedoms matter to a majority of Americans, abortion rights measures passed in seven states and failed in three.
Missouri, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New York, Maryland and Montana all backed those rights, while such amendments were defeated in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota, leaving those state bans intact.
Voters in Missouri cleared the way to undo one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans, while Nevada voters also approved a similar measure. However, the Nevada measure will have to be passed again in 2026 for it to take effect, the Associated Press reported.
“Today, Missourians made history and sent a clear message: decisions around pregnancy, including abortion, birth control and miscarriage care are personal and private and should be left up to patients and their families, not politicians,” Rachel Sweet, campaign manager of Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, told the AP.
The abortion landscape changed dramatically in the summer of 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. That 2022 ruling erased a nationwide right to abortion and cleared the way for state bans to take effect.
Missouri becomes the first state where a vote will undo a ban that’s already in place. Currently, abortion is barred at all stages of pregnancy, except when a medical emergency puts a woman’s life at risk.
Meanwhile, Florida became the first state since Roe v. Wade was overturned where abortion opponents won on a ballot measure. While most voters supported an amendment to make abortion a constitutional right, it fell short of the required 60% for passage. Unlike Florida, most states only require a simple majority for constitutional amendments.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national anti-abortion group SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement that the result is “a momentous victory for life in Florida and for our entire country.”
The defeat makes permanent the removal of Florida as a destination for abortion for women from nearby Southern states with tough bans. The nearest states with looser restrictions are North Carolina and Virginia, the AP reported.
“The reality is, because of Florida’s constitution, a minority of Florida voters have decided Amendment 4 will not be adopted,” Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for the Yes on 4 Campaign, told the AP.
Still, other states guaranteed abortion rights.
Arizona’s amendment will replace a law that bans abortion after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. The new measure guarantees the right to an abortion until viability, the AP reported.
In Maryland, the abortion rights amendment won’t make an immediate difference to abortion access because the state already allows it.
Meanwhile, the Colorado measure exceeded the 55% of support required to pass. Besides enshrining access, it also undoes an earlier amendment that barred using state and local government funding for abortion.
And in New York, an equal rights law that will bolster abortion rights also passed. It bans discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy,” the AP reported.
At this point, 13 states are enforcing bans at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions, the AP reported. Four more bar abortion in most cases after about six weeks of pregnancy — a time period before most women realize they’re pregnant.
Despite state bans on abortion, a recent report found the number of monthly abortions in the United States has risen slightly, mostly because of the growing use of abortion pills and organized efforts to help women travel for abortion.
More information
The National Library of Medicine has more on abortion.
SOURCE: Associated Press
What This Means For You
Seven states have passed ballot measures that erase tough abortion bans, while three states voted to keep those restrictions in place.
