7 states vote to protect abortion rights, while efforts to expand access in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota fail
By Amy O’Kruk, Annette Choi, Lauren Mascarenhas, Kaanita Iyer and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN
(CNN) — More than two years after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the federal constitutional right to an abortion, voters in 10 states cast ballots on whether to cement reproductive rights in their state constitutions.
Measures to protect abortion access will pass in Arizona and Missouri, where citizens effectively voted to overturn their state’s abortion bans. Abortion rights supporters are hopeful this will lead to a widespread increase in access to reproductive care in those states.
Similar measures will pass in Colorado, New York, Maryland, Montana and Nevada, cementing or expanding current abortion access. And measures to protect abortion failed in Florida, where the procedure is banned six weeks into pregnancy, and South Dakota, where it is banned, except to save the life of the mother.
In Nebraska, an amendment cementing the state’s current 12-week abortion ban in the state constitution will pass, while a competing amendment to codify the right to an abortion will fail, CNN projects.
Since Roe was overturned in 2022, seven states had seen a popular vote on abortion rights prior to this year. Every measure aimed at protecting access passed, while all measures to restrict it failed.
Nebraska
Voters in Nebraska will approve a measure to enshrine the state’s current 12-week abortion ban into the state’s constitution, with exceptions for rape, incest and medical emergencies, CNN projects.
The measure was one of two abortion-related initiatives on the ballot in Nebraska. Voters are projected to reject a competing measure to enshrine the right to an abortion until viability or to protect the health of the pregnant woman in the state’s constitution.
This year marked the first time in state history that two conflicting petition efforts made the same ballot. Organizers campaigned fiercely to get their respective measures on the ballot – with each side accusing the other of using misleading tactics.
Missouri
Voters in Missouri will approve a measure to enshrine the right to an abortion up to the point of viability in the state’s constitution, CNN projects.
The measure will establish a right to make reproductive care decisions without government interference and protect those seeking or providing care from government discrimination.
The projected win for reproductive rights advocates will greatly expand access to abortion in the state, where the procedure is currently banned with no exceptions for rape or incest. Doctors believe fetus viability to be around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
South Dakota
Voters in South Dakota will reject a measure that would have guaranteed a constitutional right to an abortion – with regulations – during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy, CNN projects.
Reproductive rights advocates were hopeful this measure would return abortion access to pregnant survivors of rape or incest, who have no abortion options under the state’s current law.
Nevada
Nevada voters will approve a measure that would establish the fundamental right to an abortion up to the point of fetal viability in the state’s constitution, CNN projects. To amend the constitution, however, Nevada voters will still have to approve the measure again in 2026.
Montana
CNN projects that voters in Montana will approve a measure to amend the state’s constitution to protect the right to make decisions about one’s own pregnancy – including the right to an abortion – through fetal viability or when needed to protect the pregnant patient’s life or health.
While abortion is currently legal through viability in Montana, the measure will shore up the right to the procedure in Montana by enshrining a 1999 state Supreme Court ruling. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a law in 2023 that specified that access to an abortion is no longer protected under the right of privacy in the state’s constitution, challenging that precedent.
Arizona
Arizona voters will approve a measure to enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution up to fetal viability, CNN projects.
The win for reproductive rights advocates will expand access to the procedure in the state, which currently bans abortion at 15 weeks into pregnancy. Doctors believe fetus viability to be around 22 to 24 weeks.
The Arizona State Supreme Court voted in April to uphold a Civil War-era total ban on abortion, sparking national outrage and prompting state lawmakers to repeal the ban before it could take effect. Abortion rights supporters said the moment served as a stark reminder of what could come if reproductive rights weren’t enshrined in the state constitution.
Colorado
Colorado voters will approve a measure to enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution, CNN projects. While abortion remains legal in the state with no gestational limit, the approval of the amendment means public funds can be used toward abortions.
That will clear the way for the state to potentially cover abortions under Medicaid and some state employee health insurance plans. Abortion rights supporters say this will go a long way toward expanding abortion access, especially among low-income individuals.
Maryland
Voters in Maryland will approve a measure to enshrine reproductive protections, including the right to end a pregnancy, in the state’s constitution, CNN projects. The procedure is already legal in the state with no gestational limit.
In 2023, Maryland enacted a shield law protecting its abortion providers from investigations by other states. While the state’s vote will have little impact on abortion access for its own residents, proponents say it’s important to solidify reproductive freedoms in a state that has become an access point for out-of-state patients.
New York
CNN projects that New York voters will approve a measure that would amend the equal protection clause of the state’s constitution to say that a person’s rights cannot be denied due to “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”
The amendment survived several legal challenges to make it onto the state ballot. It seeks to provide protections against discrimination due to a number of factors, including pregnancy outcomes, age, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. While proponents focused on abortion rights, opponents used the measure’s broad nature to raise concerns about transgender and parental issues.
Florida
A Florida measure to protect the right to an abortion up to the point of viability will fail, CNN projects. Although the measure is projected to receive a majority of votes, it will not meet the 60% voter threshold needed to pass.
Both abortion rights supporters and opponents campaigned fiercely on the issue. A federal judge recently accused officials of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration of attempting to violate First Amendment rights in their campaign against the ballot measure.
The Sunshine State once served as a critical access point for patients from Southern states with more restrictive abortion policies.
This story and headline have been updated with additional information.
The-CNN-Wire
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