As the November general election nears, one key issue for voters across the political spectrum: abortion and access to reproductive rights
After the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, multiple Republican-led states have passed total abortion bans, while voters in other red states, including Kansas, Kentucky and Ohio, have supported efforts to protect reproductive rights.
Now, abortion will be on ballots in four states this year, while initiatives in six other states are still being rolled out.
Where are abortion-related initiatives on the ballot?
While abortion-related initiatives are still being processed or collecting signatures in multiple states, they are slated to be on the ballot in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, and South Dakota.
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In Colorado, voters will decide whether to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution. Abortion access is already protected in the state, but the initiative certified by the Colorado secretary of state last week would further ensure future legislative efforts will not restrict it. A ballot measure expanding abortion rights was also certified in South Dakota last week, where almost all abortions were banned after Roe v. Wade was overturned. The measure aims to prohibit the state from banning abortions before the end of the first trimester.
Like Colorado, Maryland also protects abortion access, but voters will decide whether to enshrine reproductive rights into the state constitution after state lawmakers passed the Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment last year.
At the same time, the Florida Supreme Court allowed a ban on abortions after six weeks earlier last month, it also certified language for a ballot measure aiming to protect reproductive rights in the state constitution. Florida voters will decide on this measure this fall.
Which states could have abortion rights on the ballot?
Ahead of November, abortion-related ballot initiatives in a handful of states are currently collecting signatures, including in Arizona, Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska and Nevada.
Efforts in Arizona to enshrine the right to abortion until the fetus is viable in the state constitution are underway in the state after the Arizona House of Representatives overturned last month’s state supreme court ruling that re-instated a near-total abortion ban from 1864. The ballot initiative organizers have said they collected enough signatures to get it on the ballot and are expected to submit them next month.
In Arkansas, signatures are being collected for a ballot initiative that would prohibit the state from banning abortions up to 20 weeks after gestation and put in place exceptions in cases of rape, incest or to protect the life of the pregnant person. Currently, the state has a near-total ban on abortions. Organizers must collect roughly 91,000 signatures in the state by the July 5 deadline.
Abortion is legal until fetal viability in Montana, but a current ballot initiative would prohibit the state from banning abortions before viability or in cases when it’s needed to protect the life and health of the pregnant person. The initiative has until June 21. to collect over 60,000 valid signatures.
After the Nebraska Legislature passed a 12-week abortion ban last year, organizers in the state are collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would protect abortion until fetal viability. The initiative has until July 3. to collect 125,000 valid signatures to get it on the ballot. In March, another initiative aiming to ban abortion before the first trimester was also launched in Nebraska.
Nevada voters might be able to decide whether to enshrine the right to abortion up to 24 weeks into pregnancy in the state constitution this November. Signatures for the initiative are currently being collected, and organizers must reach 102,000 by the June 26 deadline to get a place on the ballot. Voters must vote to certify the amendment in both 2024 and 2026 to pass the constitutional amendment.
An effort to enshrine abortion rights up to fetal viability in the state constitution is underway in Missouri, where there is a near-total ban on abortions with medical exemptions. The Missouri secretary of state is currently reviewing signatures collected for this initiative.
Author:: Bagombeka Job
Credit:: USA TODAY NEWS
