According to NBC News projections, constitutional amendments aimed at safeguarding or expanding abortion rights were approved in seven out of the 10 states where they were on the ballot on Tuesday.
In a significant development, ballot initiatives aimed at safeguarding abortion rights and overturning existing abortion laws were approved by voters in Arizona and Missouri. These initiatives will effectively protect abortion rights until fetal viability. However, voters in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota rejected similar proposed amendments, marking the first time pro-abortion-rights ballot measures have been unsuccessful since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
In Maryland, Montana, Nevada, and New York, where abortion is already legal until fetal viability, and in Colorado, where there are no restrictions or gestational limits on abortion, voters have passed measures to officially protect these rights. The purpose of these amendments is to safeguard existing protections and prevent lawmakers from overturning them in the future, as explained by organizers.
Nebraska voters had two abortion-related measures to consider in the general election. The approved measure will safeguard abortion rights during the first trimester, but it will prohibit the procedure during the second and third trimesters, except in cases of medical emergencies or pregnancies resulting from sexual assault or incest. This passage essentially solidifies the state’s current law, which bans abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy, with a few exceptions, in the state constitution.
The conservative state rejected the other amendment that aimed to incorporate abortion rights into its constitution until fetal viability.
The ballot measures supporting abortion rights had been on an impressive winning streak for the past 2½ years since the Roe v. Wade decision. However, this streak came to an end when the amendments in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota were defeated.
Florida voters have rejected a ballot initiative that aimed to prohibit restrictions on abortion before fetal viability. The initiative also suggested exceptions for situations where the patient’s health, as determined by their healthcare provider, was at issue.
According to Florida law, the abortion rights amendment required the backing of at least 60% of voters in order to be passed, rather than a simple majority. As of now, with 96% of the anticipated vote accounted for, the amendment has garnered 57% support from the voters.
The state’s six-week abortion ban, which includes exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the woman, remains in effect as a result of its failure.
In South Dakota, the proposed ballot amendment aimed to legalize abortion in all circumstances during the first trimester of pregnancy. It would have permitted the state to regulate abortion during the second trimester, provided that the regulations were reasonably connected to the physical health of the pregnant woman. In the third trimester, the amendment would have allowed the state to either regulate or prohibit abortion, except when a physician determined that it was necessary to preserve the woman’s life or health.
South Dakota’s abortion ban is one of the most restrictive in the country and went back into effect after the Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. This near-total ban prohibits all abortions, except cases where the woman’s life is at risk.