Abortion is officially on the ballot in ten states in November, at the behest of left-wing activists, Democrats, and abortion organizations that capitalize on ending the lives of unborn babies.
To varying degrees, many of the proposed constitutional amendments would codify the right to kill unborn babies in abortions throughout pregnancy. Abortion activists reject this claim, touting the viability standard included in most measures — which is between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy — while de-emphasizing vaguely-worded exceptions for abortions later in pregnancy. Pro-life organizations and some Republicans warn that the vague wording of some of these measures would undo state-level protections for unborn babies and pregnant women and potentially undo parental consent and notification laws, among other concerns.
When the Supreme Court issued its Dobbs decision on June 24, 2022, it overturned Roe v. Wade, which had invented a federal right to abortion for 50 years. The Dobbs decision thus returned the issue of abortion to individual states and their elected representatives, changing the nature of the struggle between the pro-life movement and the abortion industry.
Pro-abortion organizations and activists have stealthily turned to ballot measures in the hopes of shoring up the growing abortion complex in the shift from federal to state power.
Ballot measures are particularly effective as an offensive weapon because they are basically irreversible: they change a state constitution, take precedence over laws passed by state legislatures, and can only be overturned by another ballot measure. The measures are typically propped up by left-wing organizations and affiliates with deep pockets — such as Planned Parenthood and the ACLU — out-of-state dark money groups, and billionaires with eugenicist leanings, oftentimes outspending pro-life organizations by double or triple.
Every single pro-abortion-related ballot measure since the fall of Roe has been successful. During the 2022 special elections, Kansans rejected a ballot measure that would have established that the state Constitution does not include a right to abortion. During the 2022 midterms, voters in California, Michigan, and Vermont codified abortion into their Constitutions. At the same time, voters in Montana rejected a ballot measure that would have given rights to babies born alive in botched abortions. Voters in Kentucky also rejected an amendment similar to the one in Kansas. Last November, Ohioans also voted to codify the supposed right to abortion in their state Constitution via Issue 1.
State by state, Republicans have been working to protect the unborn, while Democrats have expanded abortion nationwide via shield laws, telehealth, and tens of millions of dollars spent establishing their states as abortion havens. Last year saw the highest number and rate of abortions measured in the United States — there were an estimated 1,026,690 unborn babies killed in abortions in the formal U.S. health care system and a rate of 15.7 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age, according to a report from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute. That number is a ten percent increase in abortions from 2020.
While abortion activists and Democrats wage their state-level campaigns, Vice president and Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris has made abortion and restoring a federal “right” to abortion the centerpiece of her reelection campaign — a stark contrast to former President Donald Trump’s position that individual states should set their own abortion laws.
Harris’s intense focus on abortion is not unexpected, given that one in four Democrats are single-issue voters on abortion and that the majority of independents identify as “pro-choice.” Harris also has a history of working closely with pro-abortion organizations and targeting pro-life activists and journalists.
The focus on abortion and painting Republicans as dangerous to women also seems like a ploy to distract from Americans’ top concerns under the Biden administration — the flailing economy and the border, which is essentially open — and potentially drive voter turnout to boost Democrats in other highly consequential elections.
Abortion groups are spending big and working closely with Democrats to set policy demands, should the party successfully capitalize on the issue and clinch control of Congress and/or the presidency.
Officially On the Ballot
Colorado
The proposed abortion measure, put forward by the group Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom, would ultimately enshrine the right to unlimited abortion in the state constitution and would also override a 1984 measure that prohibits health insurance from covering abortions for public employees and those on public insurance.
“The right to abortion is hereby recognized. Government shall not deny, impede, or discriminate against the exercise of that right, including prohibiting health insurance coverage for abortion,” the proposed measure reads.
The Colorado measure, which will appear as Initiative 89, would need the support of 55 percent of voters to pass.
Abortion is currently legal in Colorado throughout pregnancy.
Florida
The proposed abortion amendment in Florida is backed by Floridians Protecting Freedom — a coalition of left-wing groups that includes Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida — and bars the state from restricting abortion before viability (approximately 24 weeks) or “when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”
The ballot summary states:
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 healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.
Current Florida law does require minors to have the consent of a parent or guardian to have an abortion.
The measure will appear as “Amendment 4” on the general election ballot, according to state officials. It needs 60 percent support to pass.
Abortion in Florida is currently restricted after six weeks of pregnancy, which is often when a fetal heartbeat can be detected.
South Dakota
The South Dakota proposed abortion amendment, put forward by the group Dakotans for Health, would allow abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy and would only allow the state to regulate abortion in the second trimester in ways related to the physical health of the pregnant woman. The amendment would allow abortion to be regulated or prohibited in the third trimester, except when necessary to preserve “the life or health” of the mother.
The measure, which will appear as Amendment G, states:
Before the end of the first trimester, the State may not regulate a pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its effectuation, which must be left to the judgment of the pregnant woman.
After the end of the first trimester and until the end of the second trimester, the State may regulate the pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its effectuation only in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.
After the end of the second trimester, the State may regulate or prohibit abortion, except when abortion is necessary, in the medical judgment of the woman’s physician, to preserve the life or health of the pregnant woman.
Abortion is currently outlawed in the state, except to “preserve the life of the pregnant female.”
The measure would need a simple majority to pass, and would override the state’s current law.
Maryland
Maryland lawmakers voted in March of 2023 to place an abortion ballot measure in front of voters in November of 2024.
The proposed amendment, which will appear as Question 1, states:
That every person, as a central component of an individual’s rights to liberty and equality, has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including but not limited to the ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end one’s own pregnancy. 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.
A simple majority of voters need to approve it for it to pass.
There is already no limit on abortion in Maryland.
New York
New York Democrats passed a measure, called the Equal Rights Amendment, for the second time last year, giving it the green light to go before voters in November.
The amendment, which will appear as Proposal 1, states:
No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws of this state or any subdivision thereof. No person shall, because of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed, religion, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy, be subjected to any discrimination in their civil rights by any other person or by any firm, corporation, or institution, or by the state or any agency or subdivision of the state, pursuant to law.
The measure would need a simple majority to pass.
In New York, abortion is legal up to 24 weeks of pregnancy and after 24 weeks if a woman’s health is at risk.
Nebraska
Two warring proposed abortion amendments will appear on Nebraska’s ballot in November.
One measure, called the Protect Women and Children amendment, would enshrine the state’s current 12-week restriction into the state constitution, and contains exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed a bill in May 2023 that restricts abortion at 12 weeks of pregnancy and outlaws “gender-affirming care” for minors. Before the 12-week limit was in effect, Nebraska limited abortions to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The ballot measure reads:
Except when a woman seeks an abortion necessitated by a medical emergency or when the pregnancy results from sexual assault or incest, unborn children shall be protected from abortion in the second and third trimesters.
The Protect Women and Children Nebraska Committee is comprised of four medical professionals and is backed by pro-life groups in the state as an alternative to the other ballot measure, which would allow abortions throughout pregnancy.
Nebraska Family Alliance, which also supports the measure, said it “establishes a floor of protection, not a ceiling, meaning preborn children must, at a minimum, be protected by the second trimester, and stronger pro-life laws could still be passed going forward.”
The other proposed amendment — the Protect the Right to Abortion amendment — would allow abortions until fetal viability, which is around 24 weeks of pregnancy, and then throughout pregnancy under some exceptions. The coalition behind the measure is called the Protect Our Rights campaign, and is endorsed by groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nebraska and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska.
The measure would amend the state constitution to read:
All persons shall have a fundamental right to abortion until fetal viability, or when needed to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient, without interference from the state or its political subdivisions. Fetal viability means the point in pregnancy when, in the professional judgment of the patient’s treating health care practitioner, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus’ sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.
The measures are competing, meaning if voters somehow approve both amendments, they cannot both be enshrined into the state constitution. The one that garners the most “for” votes is the one that is supposed to be adopted.
Either measure will need a majority to pass, as well as the support of 35 percent of voters casting ballots.
Montana
An abortion measure in Montana seeks to enshrine a 1999 state Supreme Court ruling that said the constitutional right to privacy protects the right to a pre-viability abortion by a provider of the patient’s choice.
The proposed amendment would allow for abortions throughout pregnancy, per the judgment of a doctor to protect a woman’s life or health, and would prevent the government from penalizing anyone involved in their own or another’s voluntary decision to have an abortion.
The proposed measure, which will appear as CI-128, states:
CI-128 would amend the Montana Constitution to expressly provide a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion. It would prohibit the government from denying or burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability. It would also prohibit the government from denying or burdening access to an abortion when a treating healthcare professional determines it is medically indicated to protect the pregnant patient’s life or health. CI-128 prevents the government from penalizing patients, healthcare providers, or anyone who assists someone in exercising their right to make and carry out voluntary decisions about their pregnancy.
The coalition behind the ballot measure is comprised of pro-abortion groups including Planned Parenthood of Montana, ACLU of Montana, Forward Montana, and Fairness Project. The effort comes after Montanans voted against an amendment in 2022 that would have mandated that infants who are born alive, including those who survive botched abortions, are legal persons entitled to life-saving medical care.
The measure needs a simple majority to pass.
Abortion is currently legal in Montana up to fetal viability, which is the stage of pregnancy when a baby has developed enough that it is able to survive outside the womb with medical intervention — typically around 22 to 24 weeks.
Arizona
An abortion measure will appear on the Arizona ballot as “Proposition 139.”
The proposed amendment is being put forward by Arizona for Abortion Access — a coalition of groups including ACLU of Arizona, Affirm Sexual and Reproductive Health, Arizona List, Healthcare Rising Arizona, NARAL Arizona, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona.
The measure would amend the Arizona constitution to declare that “every individual has a fundamental right to abortion” and bars the state from doing anything that:
Denies, restricts, or interferes with that right before fetal viability unless justified by a compelling state interest that is achieved by the least restrictive means.
Denies, restricts, or interferes with an abortion after fetal viability that, in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional, is necessary to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.
Penalizes any individual or entity for aiding or assisting a pregnant individual in exercising that individual’s right to abortion as provided in this section.
Abortion is currently restricted in Arizona after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which is when an unborn baby is believed to be capable of feeling pain.
The Arizona Supreme Court allowed a near-total abortion ban from 1864 to go into effect over the 15-week restriction in April. However, Democrat Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs quickly signed a bill repealing the law on May 2.
The abortion measure needs a simple majority to pass. Its passage would undo the state’s current 15-week abortion limit.
Missouri
An abortion measure will appear as Amendment 3 on Missouri’s November general election ballot
The group behind the measure is Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, which is comprised of left-wing groups, including Abortion Action Missouri, the ACLU of Missouri, and the state’s Planned Parenthood affiliates.
The proposed amendment would allow abortion until fetal viability, which is generally considered to be around 24 weeks of pregnancy. The amendment also permits abortions after that point if “in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional [an abortion] is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.”
The measure also states:
The Government shall not deny or infringe upon a person’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which is the right to make and carry out decision about all matters relating to reproductive health care, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions.
…
The right to reproductive freedom shall not be denied, interfered with, delayed, or otherwise restricted unless the Government demonstrates that such actions is justified by a compelling governmental interest achieved by the least restrictive means. Any detail, interference, delay, or restriction of the right to reproductive freedom shall be presumed invalid.
The measure further states that no person “shall be penalized, prosecuted, or otherwise subjected to adverse action based on their actual, potential, perceived, or alleged pregnancy outcomes, including but not limited to miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion.”
“Nor shall any person assisting a person in exercising their right to reproductive freedom with person’s consent be penalized, prosecuted, or otherwise subjected to adverse action for doing so,” the measure reads.
Abortion is currently outlawed in Missouri, except for in medical emergencies or to save a woman’s life.
The abortion amendment would undo the state’s abortion restriction. The measure needs 50.1 percent support to pass.
Nevada
The proposed amendment in Nevada would further expand the state constitution to include the “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” including prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, vasectomy, tubal ligation, abortion, and “abortion care.”
The pro-abortion coalition pushing the ballot measure includes several left-wing organizations and Planned Parenthood affiliation.
The amendment allows state lawmakers to regulate abortion after “fetal viability,” which is around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy, but allows abortions throughout pregnancy if “in the professional judgment of an attending provider of health care, [the abortion] is medically indicated to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.”
If the proposed measure passes in November, it would have to pass again in 2026 before being added to the constitution, per state law.
In Nevada, a statute was upheld through a referendum vote in 1990 allowing abortion through 24 weeks of pregnancy. The law allows abortions throughout pregnancy when the life of the mother is in danger or for health reasons.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.