Abortion is on the ballot in 9 states and is motivating US voters

WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters in nine states are deciding whether their constitutions should guarantee abortion rights, weighing ballot measures expected to boost turnout in a number of crucial races.

Passage of certain amendments in Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota would likely result in the repeal of bans or restrictions that currently block varying levels of abortion access for the more than 7 million women of childbearing age who live in those states .

The future legality and availability of abortion depends not only on ballot measures, as policies could change depending on who controls Congress and the presidency. Same with state governments – including legislatures that pursue new laws, state supreme courts that determine the constitutionality of laws, attorneys general that decide whether to defend them, and district attorneys that enforce them.

If all the abortion rights measures pass, “it’s a sign of how much support for reproductive rights has become,” said Mary Ziegler, a professor at the University of California Davis School of Law and an expert on the history of reproductive rights. in the USA

“If some of them fail,” she added, “then you’re going to see some conservatives looking for guidance to see what the magic ingredient was that made it possible for the conservatives to stem the tide.”

Voters support abortion rights

Abortion rights advocates have prevailed on all seven measures that have emerged since 2022, when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended national abortion rights. That decision opened the door to bans or restrictions in most GOP-controlled states — and access protection in most Democratic-controlled ones.

Abortion rights campaigns have a big fundraising advantage this year. Their opponents’ efforts are focused on portraying the amendments as too extreme, rather than abortion as immoral.

Currently, 13 states enforce bans at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions. Four more abortions, in most cases after about six weeks of pregnancy – before women often realize they are pregnant. Despite the bans, the number of monthly abortions in the US has increased slightly, due to increased use of the abortion pill and organized efforts to help women travel for abortions. Still, advocates say the bans have reduced access, especially for lower-income and minority residents of states with bans.

The bans are also part of a key argument in the presidential race. Vice President Kamala Harris calls them the “Trump abortion ban,” citing former President Donald Trump’s role in overturning Roe v. Wade. Meanwhile, Harris presented herself as an outspoken and consistent advocate for reproductive health and rights, including black maternal health.

Trump sought to create a difference between his own base of anti-abortion supporters and the majority of Americans who support abortion rights, building on his blanket response that abortion rights should be left up to individual states.

His shifting positions on reproductive rights include pledging in October to oppose a national abortion ban just weeks after the presidential debate, when he repeatedly declined to say. Trump also regularly took credit for appointing three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.

After voting in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday, Trump was asked twice how he voted on the abortion measure there — and didn’t answer directly. The first time he said he did “a great job bringing it back to the states.” The second time, he snapped at a reporter, saying “you should stop talking about this.”

Trump’s attempt to find a more conservative stance on abortion echoes the efforts of many Republican congressional candidates as the issue has emerged as a major vulnerability for the GOP. In competitive congressional races from coast to coast, Republicans have distanced themselves from more aggressive anti-abortion policies coming from their party and its allies, despite their record on the issue and past statements opposing the right to abortion.

The measures could overturn bans in five states

While the ballot questions have similar purposes, each addresses its own political circumstances.

There is an additional hurdle to advancing the protections in safely Republican Florida: Supporters of the amendment must get at least 60 percent of the vote.

Going there and lifting a 6-week ban that took effect in May would be a blow to Gov. Ron DeSantis, a nationally profiled Republican who has directed state GOP funds to the cause and whose administration has also weighed , , with a campaign against the measure, with investigators questioning people who signed petitions to add it to the ballot and threats against TV stations that aired an ad supporting it.

Nebraska has competing ballot measures. One would allow abortion later in pregnancy. The other would enshrine in the constitution the current state law, which bans most abortions after 12 weeks — but would allow for additional restrictions.

In South Dakota, the measure would allow some regulations related to women’s health after 12 weeks. Because of this wrinkle, most national abortion rights groups do not support it.

In some states, notably Missouri, approval of the amendments may not immediately expand access. Courts would be asked to invalidate the bans; and there could be legal battles over it. Clinics should create their own staff and obtain licenses. And some restrictions may remain in place.

Arizona, a presidential battleground, bans abortion after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The ballot measure there gained momentum after a state Supreme Court ruling in April found that the state could enforce a strict abortion ban passed in 1864. Some GOP lawmakers joined with Democrats to repeal the law before it could be applied.

The measures would enshrine current access laws elsewhere

In Democratic-controlled Colorado and Maryland, the ballot measures would put most of the existing policies in the state constitutions, though Colorado’s version could also eliminate financial barriers to abortion. It would take 55% of the vote to get there.

Measures to maintain access are also on the ballot in Montana, where a U.S. Senate race could help determine control of the chamber, and Nevada, a presidential battleground.

In Nevada, where control of state government is divided, the ballot measure would have to pass this year and again in 2026 to take effect.

New York also has a measure on the ballot that supporters say would strengthen abortion rights. It does not contain the word “abortion,” but rather prohibits discrimination based on “pregnancy outcomes, reproductive health care, and autonomy.”

— By GEOFF MULVIHILL and CHRISTINE FERNANDO Associated Press