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Last night it wasn’t just Donald Trump or Kamala Harris on the list of candidates: there were also important referendums on abortion.
Americans in 10 states weighed in on whether to enshrine abortion rights in their local constitutions, and the results have dramatically redrawn the map of abortion access across the United States.
Voters approved the ballot measures in seven states — including in deep red areas like Missouri, where women can now have abortions up to about 23 weeks — while three rejected them, including South Dakota, where the only exception for an abortion is save the woman’s life.
The new votes mean that 30 states and the District of Columbia allow abortion up to 18 weeks into pregnancy, while 20 states restrict the procedure in the early stages of pregnancy or ban it entirely.
There are nine states with no gestational age limit, including Oregon, Michigan and New Jersey, meaning doctors in these states can perform late-stage abortions.
At the opposite extreme, there are 12 states with near-total abortion bans, including Texas, Idaho and West Virginia.
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Dr. Lisa Harris, OB-GYN and professor at the University of Michigan he told NPR that the changing landscape of laws is confusing for both providers and patients, and makes reproductive care more challenging overall.
Dr Harris said: “It’s very scary and confusing for doctors and the entire team caring for patients to know what we can do, what’s okay and what’s not.”
The issue of abortion was raised in the states in 2022 when the Supreme Court struck down the national right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson.
The decision set off a cascade of actions by individual states to either protect or restrict access to abortion.
As the issue reached voters in states like Kansas, it became clear that it doesn’t always fall along partisan lines.
Experts say yesterday’s election measures were equally surprising, Below we see how the 10 states voted:
Missouri: allowed up to 24 weeks
In The Show-Me State, when Roe v. Wade, a 2019 law went into effect banning abortions except in cases of medical emergencies. Violation of the law was punishable by five to 15 years in prison.
But in the 2024 vote, Missourians approved an amendment to their constitution guaranteeing “the right to make and execute decisions on all matters relating to reproductive health care.”
This includes allowing abortions up to the point of viability, which doctors place at around 24 weeks.
Florida: despite majority vote, six-week ban remains in place
In the Sunshine State, abortion was made illegal through a “Heartbeat Protection Law” that prohibits most abortions after six weeks of gestation.
Advocates moved to expand access with a ballot initiative that would have codified the right to abortion in the state constitution.
But there was a threshold built into the initiative, meaning it needed to get at least 60 percent of the vote to pass.
So, although a majority of voters, 57 percent, were in favor of the initiative, it was not approved.
Abortion therefore remains illegal after six weeks, except in cases where the fetus has fatal abnormalities or the mother suffers emergency complications.
South Dakota: almost total ban
In South Dakota, voters rejected an initiative that would have expanded abortion rights.
Following the 2022 Dobbs ruling, a law went into effect banning all abortions except when the pregnant woman’s life was in danger.
The 2024 measure would have enshrined the right to abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy in the Mount Rushmore state constitution. The majority of voters, 59 percent, voted against the Amendment.
This means that the almost total ban on abortion in the state remains in place.
Nevada: allowed up to 24 weeks
In 1990, Nevada passed a law guaranteeing abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, so that even after the Dobbs decision in 2022, citizens had access to the medical procedure.
Still, abortion rights activists acted to raise the issue with voters to guarantee access to the medical procedure in the state constitution.
Sixty-three percent of Nevada voters approved the measure, which enshrines the right to abortion up to fetal viability, around 24 weeks.
However, they will have to vote on the issue again in 2026 to officially amend the constitution, according to state law.
Arizona: allowed up to 24 weeks
Abortion rights in Arizona have been changing in recent years. In April 2024, the state supreme court upheld a complete ban on abortion that was originally created during the Civil War.
State senators blocked the law from going into effect, but the situation mobilized abortion activists in the state, who added a ballot measure for the 2024 elections.
Arizona voters approved the ballot measure, which approved an amendment to the state constitution that protects abortion up to 24 weeks.
Nebraska – 12 week ban
In Nebraska, there were two opposing ballot measures in the 2024 election.
Initiative 439 would have added the right to abortion up to 24 weeks to the state constitution.
About 51 percent of voters were against the amendment, so it did not pass.
By contrast, Initiative 434, which enshrines the state’s current 12-week ban in the constitution, won 55 percent of voters.
The 12-week ban, which falls within the first quarter, was originally signed into law in May 2023 by Gov. Jim Pillen.
This means that in Nebraska, abortions are prohibited after the first trimester, unless someone is in a medical emergency or the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest.
Montana: allowed up to 24 weeks
Montanans had the right to abortion before the election thanks to a 1999 state Supreme Court ruling.
However, state lawmakers have defied that precedent several times since then, passing laws banning abortion and eliminating Medicaid coverage for the procedure.
In the 2024 election, 58 percent of voters approved a ballot initiative to amend the state constitution. The amendment states that: “it will expressly establish the right to make and carry out decisions about one’s pregnancy, including the right to abortion.”
This protection extends up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, but allows medical professionals to exceed that threshold in medically necessary cases.
New York: allowed up to 24 weeks
As in Nevada, New Yorkers’ abortion laws have not been challenged in recent years. Still, reproductive rights groups moved to raise the issue with people with proposal one.
The proposal added language to the state constitution’s equal protection clause on pregnancy. It establishes that no one can be discriminated against or denied their rights due to: “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and health care and reproductive autonomy.”
Voters approved the addition, maintaining the right to abortion in the state up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. The State also allows abortion after 24 weeks if the woman’s life is in danger.
Maryland: allowed without limits
In Maryland, 74 percent of voters approved a measure to add reproductive protections to its constitution.
This consolidates the access that women in the state already had to abortion.
The Old Line State has been progressive with its abortion protection in recent years, even enacting protective laws that protect abortion providers in the state from being prosecuted by other states.
Colorado – allowed without limits
In the Centennial State, abortion has been widely protected. However, there were concerns that local governments in more rural parts of the state were taking steps to restrict access to the procedure. according to NPR.
The question was then put to the voters. Approximately 61 percent of voters in the Centennial State voted to approve Amendment 79, earning more than the required 55 percent.
The Amendment essentially takes a 2022 law signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis that enshrines the right to abortion without a gestation limit and allows Medicaid to cover the procedure.
