This week, election officials in Arizona and Missouri announced that abortion-rights supporters in those states had gathered enough petition signatures to put proposed amendments on the ballot that would make abortion a right in their state constitutions.
Decisions about abortion policy will be on the ballot in several other states in November, including Colorado, Florida, Maryland, New York, Nevada and South Dakota, with the potential for Nebraska and Montana to also vote on the issue.
Here are the measures and what they contain on each state’s ballot.
Arizona
The Arizona Abortion Access Act would block the state of Arizona from establishing any law, regulation, policy or practice that would:
- Deny, restrict or interfere with the right to an abortion before fetal viability. (Fetal viability refers to the point in pregnancy when a fetus can potentially survive outside the womb with or without medical assistance.)
- Deny, restrict or interfere with the right to an abortion after fetal viability when a medical professional has deemed it necessary to protect the life of the mother.
- Penalize any individual or entity for aiding or assisting in an abortion.
In Arizona, abortion is currently legal up to 15 weeks, while “at any point in the pregnancy, including after 15 weeks, abortion is legal if a doctor determines that there is a medical emergency,” per the office of Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Colorado
In Colorado, the The Colorado Right to Abortion and Health Insurance Coverage Initiative seeks:
- A constitutional right to abortion in the Colorado state constitution.
- And to allow the use of public funds for abortion.
Per BallotPedia, a 55% supermajority vote is required for the initiative to be approved
Abortion is currently legal and available for anyone who seeks it in Colorado.
Florida
A proposed amendment to Florida’s constitution — Florida Amendment 4 — would include:
- A constitutional right to abortion before fetal viability.
- Or a right to abortion after viability when determined by the patient’s health care provider as necessary to protect the patient’s health.
Per Ballotpedia, “a 60% supermajority vote is required for the approval of the amendment.”
Florida currently ban’s abortions after six weeks unless there is a medical exception.
Maryland
A proposed amendment in Maryland, Senate Bill 798, would amend the Maryland Constitution to include:
- “An individual’s fundamental right to an individual’s own reproductive liberty.”
- And to prevent government intervention except when “justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”
Abortion is currently legal in Maryland.
Missouri
The proposed amendment in Missouri would:
- Give individuals full reproductive rights, meaning the government cannot interfere before fetal viability.
- Give the government the ability to enact laws that regulate abortion after fetal viability.
- Establish that no person may be prosecuted for assisting with an abortion.
Currently, per Missouri law, “Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no abortion shall be performed or induced upon a woman, except in cases of medical emergency.”
New York
Senate Bill S108A in New York would amend the New York Bill of Rights to:
- Says that no individual should be denied rights based on their “ethnicity, national origin, age, or disability,” as well as their “sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and access to reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”
Everyone, regardless of age, has an “absolute right to abortion through the 24th week of pregnancy in New York,” according to the office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
“After 24 weeks, abortion is permitted if your medical provider decides your fetus is not viable or your life, physical health, or mental health is at risk.”
Nevada
Nevada’s proposed amendment would officially make abortion access constitutional and change it from timeline access to reliance on fetal viability.
In Nevada, abortion is currently legal until 24 weeks of pregnancy, and one may be performed after 24 weeks if a physician determines it is necessary to preserve the life of the mother.
- “All individuals shall have a fundamental right to abortion performed or administered by a qualified health care practitioner until fetal viability, or when needed to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient, without interference from the state or its political subdivisions.”
South Dakota
In South Dakota, Constitutional Amendment G lays out a proposed trimester framework in the South Dakota Constitution for regulating abortion. It would work like this:
- Constitutional Amendment G would establish a state constitutional right to abortion, prohibiting state regulation of abortion during the first trimester.
- In the second trimester, the state could regulate abortion, but only in ways that protect the pregnant woman’s physical health.
- In the third trimester, the state could regulate or prohibit abortion, except when the procedure is necessary to preserve the life and health of the woman, as determined by her physician.
In South Dakota, abortion is currently banned except in cases where it would save the life of the mother.
Nebraska and Montana
In Nebraska and Montana, voters could also face a decision about abortion.
In Nebraska, two measures have reportedly reached the appropriate number of signatures to get on the ballot. The first would establish the right to abortion until viability, and the second would put into the constitution Nebraska’s current law, which bans abortions after 12 weeks with exceptions, per The Associated Press.
In Montana, an amendment has been proposed that would establish the right to an abortion before viability or to protect the life or health of the woman.
Why do states have abortion measures on their ballots?
As previously reported by the Deseret News, in June 2022 the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, which took policymaking decisions away from the federal government and handed them back to individual states.
After the decision, the states either returned to their default laws or quickly passed new ones. This election, abortion rights advocates are asking voters if they’d like to cement access to abortion in their state constitutions.