(WASHINGTON) — Advocates in as many as 14 states hope to get measures related to reproductive rights and abortion access on the 2024 general election ballot during a presidential election year, and as abortion access remains a major flash point in the United States, including at the Supreme Court.
It’s not the first time abortion has been on the ballot. A ballot measure that supported abortion access passed in Ohio in 2023, while initiatives in Kansas and Kentucky saying the state constitutions don’t protect abortion were defeated, respectively, by voters in 2022. Observers have speculated that the issue of reproductive rights is galvanizing voters across the political spectrum.
Here’s a look at where reproductive rights might be on the ballot in November.
Where are initiatives confirmed on the ballot?
In two states, Maryland and New York, a measure that relates to reproductive rights is confirmed to be on the November ballot. Abortion is already broadly allowed in both states, and in New York until fetal viability, according to research by the Guttmacher Institute.
In Maryland, voters will decide on an act that would enshrine the right to get an abortion in the Maryland Constitution.
In New York, voters will see the Equal Rights Amendment constitutional amendment on the ballot, which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of various characteristics, including “reproductive health care and autonomy,” according to the bill’s text.
Where are initiatives gathering signatures?
In Arizona, advocates are gathering signatures for the Arizona Abortion Access Act ballot initiative, which would amend the state’s constitution to prohibit the state from legislating against abortion up until fetal viability, and it would enshrine other abortion protections into law. Currently, according to the Guttmacher Institute, abortion is banned after 15 weeks in Arizona and under a variety of restrictions.
Arizona will also feature a high-profile Senate race on the ballot in November, likely between Republican candidate Kari Lake and Democratic candidate Rep. Ruben Gallego.
In Arkansas, groups are collecting signatures to get the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the ballot. The initiative would amend the state constitution to prohibit the government from banning abortion further than 18 weeks and includes exceptions for rape, incest and the mother’s health. Abortion is currently fully banned in Arkansas, with few exceptions.
In Colorado, where abortion is not restricted but where state Medicaid coverage for abortion is usually prohibited, dueling initiatives are currently gathering signatures.
The Right to Abortion initiative would “ensure the right to abortion” in the state constitution, according to the text of the initiative, while the Equal Protection of Every Living Child in Colorado initiative would add to state statutes language banning abortion fully in the state, framed around protecting children beginning at conception.
In Florida, the Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion is a ballot initiative that would amend the state’s constitution to prohibit the government from legislating about abortion “before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health,” according to the initiative.
In January, the petition surpassed the required number of signatures but is currently held up due to a challenge from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, which the Florida Supreme Court is supposed to rule on by April 1.
In Missouri, the Right to Reproductive Freedom ballot initiative would enshrine the right to reproductive freedom relating to reproductive health care, according to the petition text. Abortion is currently fully banned in the state with few exceptions.
In Montana, which allows abortion until fetal viability, a proposed ballot initiative would affirm in the state’s constitution “the right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion” and would prohibit the government from “denying or burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability,” according to the group Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights.
Montanans voted down in 2022 a measure that would have restricted abortion access. In November 2024, the state will also have a high-profile Senate race on the ballot, likely between Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester and Republican candidate Tim Sheehy.
In Nebraska, the Protect the Right to Abortion initiative by the Protect Our Rights coalition would amend the state constitution to allow abortion up until fetal viability. Abortion is currently banned after 12 weeks in Nebraska.
Separate initiatives that would restrict abortion access or procedures have also been introduced in Nebraska, including a Protect Women and Children initiative that would ban most abortions after the first trimester. The initiative was launched in early March, according to Omaha ABC affiliate KETV. That initiative is not yet listed by the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office.
In Nevada, the Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom Political Action Committee is currently collecting signatures to put an initial vote to add a section enshrining the “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” into the state’s constitution. Under the proposed section, according to the petition’s text, the state would be allowed to legislate about abortion after fetal viability unless a health care provider says abortion is necessary. Abortion is currently banned after 24 weeks in Nevada.
If the initiative makes the ballot and passes in 2024, it would still need to pass another vote in 2026 to amend the state’s constitution.
In South Dakota, which almost fully bans abortion, a proposed constitutional amendment would guarantee abortion access to preserve the life and health of pregnant women, would prohibit an abortion ban before the end of the first trimester, and would allow the state to regulate abortion through the end of the second trimester, according to the proposed amendment. A ban would be allowed at the beginning of the third trimester under the proposed amendment.
Where are initiatives undergoing state legislative action?
In Maine and Pennsylvania, proposed constitutional amendments to enshrine reproductive rights are currently in progress in the respective state legislatures.
In Iowa and also in Pennsylvania, amendments that would say there is no constitutional right to abortion in those states are in progress in those respective legislatures, as well.
The initiatives in those respective states need to go through various votes by the state legislatures before they can potentially be on the general election ballot.
ABC News’ Libby Cathey, Hannah Demissie, Nicholas Kerr, Kendall Ross, and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
