7 states vote to protect abortion rights, 3 keep restrictions in place
Ten states voted directly on abortion-related measures Tuesday, with abortion advocates claiming seven victories.
Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada and South Dakota all went to the polls on the issue, with the majority of the ballot measures seeking to amend efforts passed in Republican-led states whose leaders moved to restrict abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court's June 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Voters in Missouri cleared the way to undo the state's near-total ban, one of the nation’s tightest restrictions, with an amendment that would allow lawmakers to restrict abortions past the point of a fetus’ viability – usually considered after 21 weeks, although there is no exact defined time frame.
Abortion rights amendments also passed in Arizona, Colorado and Maryland and Montana, per The Associated Press. Montana voted to amend the state constitution to "expressly provide a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion."
ABORTION 'ON THE BALLOT' IN 10 STATES THIS ELECTION, BUT IT MIGHT NOT MATTER
Nevada voters also approved an amendment, but they’ll need to pass it again in 2026 for it to take effect.
Another measure, which bans discrimination on the basis of "pregnancy outcomes," prevailed in New York. It does not contain the word "abortion," but rather bans discrimination on the basis of "pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy."
In Arizona, voters were asked to amend the state constitution to allow abortions through the 24-week mark. The measure enshrines a "fundamental right" to abortion before fetal viability, when a fetus has a "significant likelihood" of surviving outside the uterus.
The amendment replaces the current law that bans abortion after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.
A long-dormant 1864 law, which predated Arizona's statehood, had gone into effect in the Grand Canyon State after the repeal of Roe vs. Wade in 2022, thrusting the issue into the spotlight and leading to Tuesday’s vote. The law had no exceptions for rape and incest, only for the life of the mother, and was repealed in September.
Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota defeated similar constitutional amendments, leaving existing restrictions in place.
Florida, home to more than 13 million registered voters, was the most populous state deciding on abortion measures. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last year signed into law the Heartbeat Protection Act, which restricts most abortions after six weeks of gestation.
This year, Florida residents voted on Amendment 4, the Right to Abortion Initiative, which aimed to overturn that law by prohibiting measures that restrict abortion before viability. In Florida, constitutional amendments must get 60% of the vote, not a simple majority, to pass. Amendment 4 received majority support among voters but failed to meet the 60% threshold.
South Dakota voters’ defeat of its abortion measure prevents some regulations related to the health of the woman after 12 weeks. The Mount Rushmore State currently has a ban on abortion throughout pregnancy with some exceptions.
Nebraska passed a ballot amendment prohibiting abortion beyond the first three months of pregnancy.
Tuesday’s results ended a win streak for abortion-rights advocates who had prevailed on all seven measures that have appeared on statewide ballots since the fall of Roe.
A Fox News poll conducted this year found that a record-high number of voters now say they support legalizing abortion in some form, including two-thirds who said they supported a nationwide law that would guarantee abortion access for women.
Fifty-nine percent said they believe abortion should be legal in "all or most cases," up from the previous high of 57% in September 2022.
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace, Breanne Deppisch, Emma Colton and the Associated Press contributed to this report.