If You’re in These 10 States, the Future of Abortion Is in Your Hands
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and gutted our constitutional right to abortion, all eyes have been on the states. And what a time it’s been: 22 states have passed more restrictive abortion laws and 14 have banned the procedure. There are fewer clinics providing care, more people seeking abortions have to cross state lines, and it’s harder than ever for a pregnant person to get an emergency procedure if their life is in danger.
So it’s perhaps little wonder why, in a new Cosmopolitan survey of Gen Z voters, women said reproductive rights is the issue they care most about this election cycle. The good news: For millions of them voting in the 10 states below, hope is on the ballot next week in the form of initiatives—issues or laws decided during a general election—that would constitutionally protect the right to abortion. (Since 2022, similar initiatives have been voted on in seven states...and abortion rights have won out every single time.)
This is the single biggest post-Roe push to protect abortion access yet—and people on all sides of the issue know it. Abortion opponents have been pulling out all the stops to sway voters. Proponents of reproductive freedoms continue to point to public opinion, which, recent polling shows, is generally supportive of abortion rights (54 percent of American adults identify as pro-choice).
TL;DR: If you live in one of these states and need yet another reason to vote, you now have one.
Arizona
CURRENT LAW: Abortion is legal up to 15 weeks, but providers have to read patients a script about the fetus and procedure, give and explain an ultrasound, and the actual abortion has to happen at a second appointment at least 24 hours after the scan.
BALLOT INITIATIVE: Proposition 139 would make abortion legal until the point that the fetus is viable—meaning it can survive outside the pregnant person’s body—which is generally up to the 24th week of pregnancy or when a doctor determines the fetus is viable, depending on the state. In addition to adding this right to the state constitution, it also specifies that the state can’t make it illegal to help pregnant people get abortions or interfere with health care professionals’ decisions about when an abortion is necessary for the pregnant person’s health.
Colorado
CURRENT LAW: Colorado is one of nine states that doesn’t have any abortion ban, meaning the procedure is legal at any stage of pregnancy.
BALLOT INITIATIVE: Initiative 2023-24 #89 would amend the state constitution to protect existing abortion access and recognize the right to abortion. It also says that health insurance needs to cover abortion. It needs 55 percent of the vote to pass. (In 2020, 59 percent of Colorado voters rejected a ballot initiative that would have banned abortion after 22 weeks.)
Florida
CURRENT LAW: Abortion laws in Florida have been in flux since Roe was overturned. In 2022, it was legal until 24 weeks. In 2023, that dropped to 15 weeks, and now pregnant people have only 6 weeks to get an abortion—with some exceptions. A window this short makes the procedure effectively illegal.
BALLOT INITIATIVE: Amendment 4 would enshrine the right to abortion until viability (or at any point if the pregnant person’s health is in danger) in the state constitution. A recent poll showed 55 percent of Florida voters are planning to vote “yes” on the measure, but it needs 60 percent of the vote to pass.
Maryland
CURRENT LAW: Abortion is legal until viability.
BALLOT INITIATIVE: The constitutional amendment on the ballot as Question 1 wouldn’t just preserve abortion rights, it would also guarantee “the right to reproductive freedom.” The amendment was approved by the Maryland House of Delegates in 2022 and now needs approval from voters and the state senate to take effect.
Missouri
CURRENT LAW: Missouri is one of 14 states that bans abortion—with some exceptions—at any point during pregnancy. The procedure is also criminalized.
BALLOT INITIATIVE: Amendment 3 would give Missourians the right to make their own decisions about reproductive health care including abortion, birth control, childbirth, miscarriage, and prenatal and postpartum care. If it passes, abortion would be legal until fetal viability.
Montana
CURRENT LAW: Abortion is legal until viability, but performing one after is a felony for the provider.
BALLOT INITIATIVE: The proposed constitutional amendment in Ballot Issue 14 would give Montanans the right to make decisions about their own pregnancy, including whether to have an abortion. It also prevents the state from penalizing anyone who assists with an abortion.
Nebraska
CURRENT LAW: In Nebraska, abortion is legal until the 13th week of pregnancy.
BALLOT INITIATIVES: In Nebraska, there are two abortion-related initiatives on the ballot. Initiative Measure 434 would make the current ban on abortions in the second and third trimesters a part of the state constitution and Initiative Measure 439 would lift that ban and make abortion legal until viability. Both proposals allow for exceptions for later abortion in case of medical emergency.
New York
CURRENT LAW: Abortion is legal up to 24 weeks.
BALLOT INITIATIVE: Also known as the New York Equal Amendment, Proposal 1 would amend the state constitution to protect abortion rights and access.
Nevada
CURRENT LAW: Thanks to a 1990 ballot measure, abortion is legal up to 24 weeks and the state legislature is barred from changing the law without voter approval.
BALLOT INITIATIVE: Voters will now take up the issue again with Question 6, which would enshrine the law in the state constitution if approved and mean that the state could only regulate abortion after the point of fetal viability. Voters would need to approve the question a second time at the ballot in 2026 to make it official.
South Dakota
CURRENT LAW: South Dakota has extremely restrictive abortion laws. It’s a felony to give an abortion at any gestational age and providers could be sentenced to two years in prison.
BALLOT INITIATIVE: Amendment G would repeal the current ban and penalties and legalize abortion up to 12 weeks. It allows the legislature to regulate abortion in the second trimester and ban it in the third trimester with exceptions to protect the health of the pregnant person.
You Might Also Like