Washington — The 2024 election will not only decide who succeeds President Biden in the White House, but in 10 states, voters will also have the chance to weigh in on abortion access through ballot measures.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which had established the right to an abortion in the U.S. Constitution, abortion rights groups have turned to ballot initiatives to put the issue of reproductive rights squarely before voters.
Proponents have already seen successes with this approach in 2022 and 2023, when there were abortion-related initiatives on the ballot in seven states.
If the latest ballot measures are successful in expanding abortion access, they would override stringent bans on the procedure in five states. Roughly two dozen states have enacted abortion restrictions after Roe was reversed, and 14 of those states have near-total bans with limited exceptions.
Here’s where abortion is on the ballot in 2024:
Arizona
A ballot measure, known as Proposition 139, would create a “fundamental right” to abortion in Arizona. Under the proposed change to the state’s constitution, the state would not be able to “interfere with this fundamental right before fetal viability unless it has a compelling reason and does so in the least restrictive way possible.” Fetal viability is generally understood to be between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy, and is defined in the ballot measure as the point when “the fetus has a significant likelihood of survival outside the uterus,” as determined by a healthcare professional.
A yes vote would enshrine the right in the state constitution. Abortion is currently legal in Arizona within the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. The measure requires more than 50% of support from voters to be approved.
Colorado
Colorado’s Amendment 79 would amend the state’s constitution to add a section recognizing the right to abortion. The question on the ballot asks whether there should “be a change to the Colorado constitution recognizing the right to abortion and, in connection therewith, prohibiting the state and local governments from denying, impeding, or discriminating against the exercise of that right, allowing abortion to be a covered service under health insurance plans for Colorado state and local government employees and for enrollees in state and local governmental insurance programs.
The ballot measure would roll back a constitutional amendment approved by voters 40 years ago that barred the use of state funds for abortions.
Amendment 79 requires 55% approval since it adds language to the state constitution, according to the Colorado secretary of state. Colorado law currently protects the right to abortion.
Florida
Known as Amendment 4, or the “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion,” the measure would override Florida’s ban on abortion after six weeks and enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution.
The text of the amendment states that “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s health care provider.” It would leave in place a parental notification requirement for a minor seeking an abortion.
The ballot measure requires support from 60% of voters in order to pass.
Florida’s proposal garnered attention this summer when former President Donald Trump, who resides at a private club in Palm Beach, criticized the state’s current six-week ban and said he was “going to be voting that we need more than six weeks.” The Republican presidential nominee quickly backtracked and said that while he disagrees with Florida’s ban, he would be voting “no” on the ballot measure.
Maryland
Abortion is legal in Maryland, but voters will have the chance to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution by amending its Declaration of Rights.
The state’s Question 1 would confirm “an individual’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including but not limited to the ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end the individual’s pregnancy, and provides the state may not, directly or indirectly, deny, burden or abridge the right unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”
The initiative requires support from more than 50% of voters to win approval.
Missouri
Abortion is currently banned in Missouri except when there is a “medical emergency,” but voters will have a chance to weigh in on Amendment 3, which, if approved, would amend the Missouri Constitution to unwind that ban.
Called the “Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative,” it would establish a constitutional right to reproductive freedom, which is described as the right to “make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive health care,” including prenatal care, child care, birth control and abortion.
The measure would allow the state to restrict or ban abortion after fetal viability, considered to be between 22 and 24 weeks into pregnancy, except when necessary to protect the life or health of the mother. It also would prohibit the government from discriminating against any person providing or obtaining reproductive health care in government programs, funding or other activities.
Amendment 3 requires a simple majority to pass.
Montana
In Montana, Ballot Issue 14 is a constitutional initiative that would change the state constitution to “expressly provide a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion.”
The measure would bar the government from “denying or burdening” the right to terminate a pregnancy before fetal viability and prohibit the state from denying or burdening access to an abortion when a medical professional determines it’s needed to protect the mother’s life or health.
Ballot Issue 14 would also prevent the government from punishing patients, health care providers or others who assist a person in “exercising their right to make and carry out voluntary decisions about their pregnancy.”
The vote in Montana comes two years after voters rejected a legislative referendum adopting the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, which declared that infants born alive, including after an abortion, are legal persons.
Abortion is legal in Montana up to fetal viability after the state supreme court recognized the right to abortion under its constitution.
Nebraska
Two dueling initiatives are on the ballot in Nebraska — one that would establish a right to abortion until fetal viability and another that would enshrine abortion restrictions in the state constitution.
Initiative 434 would amend the state constitution to restrict abortion in the second and third trimesters, except in the case of “a medical emergency or when the pregnancy results from sexual assault or incest.”
Initiative 439 would amend the state constitution to create a right to abortion “without interference from the state or its political subdivisions” until fetal viability. Fetal viability is described as when a health care provider deems there is “significant likelihood of the fetus’ sustained survival” outside of the uterus, which is generally between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Abortion is currently legal in Nebraska until 12 weeks of pregnancy. According to the state’s constitution, if two conflicting measures are approved during the same election, the highest vote-getter will become law.
Nevada
Nevada’s Question 6 proposes amending the state constitution to make abortion access an individual right. Approval of the “Reproductive Freedom Amendment” is a first step and places the issue on the general election ballot in 2026, since constitutional amendments have to be approved twice by voters.
The proposed amendment would guarantee that every individual has a “fundamental freedom” which includes the right to make decisions about pregnancy-related matters like prenatal care, contraception and abortion. It would allow the state to regulate abortion after fetal viability, except when necessary to “protect the life or physical or mental health” of the mother.
The measure requires simple majority support to pass.
New York
In New York, a measure known as Proposition 1 will appear on the ballot. Though abortion isn’t explicitly mentioned in the ballot measure, supporters say it would safeguard abortion protections by defining “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy” as protected classes under the state constitution.
The state’s constitution currently protects against discrimination on the basis of “race, color, creed or religion.” The proposal, known as the Equal Rights Amendment, would add ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, to that list, in addition to the reproductive rights-related language.
In the Empire State, abortion is legal until 24 weeks of pregnancy.
South Dakota
Abortion is currently banned in South Dakota, except when necessary to save the life of the mother, but Constitutional Amendment G would override that near-total ban if approved by voters.
The measure establishes a constitutional right to abortion and a legal framework for regulation of abortion by the state, which would take the place of existing laws and regulations on the issue.
Under the amendment, the state would not restrict abortion during the first trimester, leaving it instead up to the pregnant woman. The state would, however, regulate abortion in the second trimester only if it is “reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.” After the end of the second trimester, the state would regulate or ban abortion, except when needed to preserve the life or health of the mother.
A “yes” vote would adopt the amendment, while a “no” vote would keep South Dakota’s current law intact.
