Nearly everywhere abortion was on the ballot, Americans voted to protect it.
Of the 10 states where abortion rights were on the ballot on Tuesday, seven voted to expand or enshrine abortion rights. The results are emblematic of what pro-choice advocates have been saying for decades: Abortion rights are widely popular.
In the biggest win of the night, deep-red Missouri decided to codify abortion protections into the state constitution. The measure will repeal the state’s near-total abortion ban and restore access until around 24 weeks of pregnancy — marking the first time since Roe v. Wade fell that voters have overturned an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Voters in Maryland and Colorado supported amendments to enshrine abortion access throughout pregnancy — a progressive win in states that have become safe havens for abortion care later in pregnancy. Notably, Colorado’s amendment also repeals a 1984 state law that barred the use of public funds for abortion care.
Arizona, Montana and Nevada all voted to pass amendments that codify abortion through fetal viability, or around 24 weeks of pregnancy, into the state constitution.
New Yorkers passed a historic amendment to expand the state’s equal rights amendment to include pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes. The amendment also includes protections against discrimination based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
Three states — Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota — voted against abortion rights. A slim majority of Nebraska voters supported an anti-abortion amendment to codify the state’s current 12-week abortion ban, beating out the state’s competing abortion rights measure.
Florida’s outcome was particularly heartbreaking for pro-choice groups because a majority of Floridians (57%) supported the amendment, voting to restore abortion access until fetal viability. But because voters didn’t meet the state’s 60% threshold for amending the state constitution, Amendment 4 did not pass.
“The reality is because of Florida’s constitution a minority ― a minority ― a minority of Florida voters have decided that Amendment 4 will not be adopted,” Lauren Brenzel, director of the Yes On 4 campaign, said during her Tuesday night concession speech.
“Republicans, Democrats and Independents do not support these extreme bans on abortion. They are tired of women dying because of abortion bans,” she continued. “…A bipartisan group of voters today sent a clear message to the Florida legislature.”
Despite 7 out of 10 states voting to protect abortion care, voters still supported a presidential candidate who will very likely decimate women’s reproductive health care. Donald Trump may have shied away from his anti-abortion record on the campaign trail, but now that he’s headed to the White House, those guardrails will likely fall by the wayside.
Trump has waffled on a national abortion ban, but many of his allies laid out a blueprint for how to ban abortion nationwide in Project 2025.
A federal abortion ban would trump state rights, including the abortion rights measures that seven states passed last night, according to Mary Ziegler, an expert in reproductive health law at the University of California, Davis, School of Law. The Comstock Act, an archaic law that bans the mailing of abortion pills, would also likely supersede state rights if Trump enforces it as a national abortion ban.
Although the GOP won control of the Senate, control of the House — and with it, Trump’s ability to pass a national abortion ban through Congress — is still up in the air.
Democracy In The Balance
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“Yet again, the people have spoken loudly and clearly: abortion is health care, and politicians do not deserve the right to make people’s medical decisions,” Pro-Choice Caucus co-chairs Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said in Wednesday statement.
“In the months and years to come, there is no doubt we face a daunting path to securing reproductive freedom nationwide,” the statement continues. “We are clear-eyed about the threats ahead, from emboldened Republican extremists to a hostile White House and administration. We believe in a future of reproductive freedom for every American, and we will never stop fighting for you.”
There will be litigation in every state that passed an abortion rights amendment on Tuesday night. Opponents of the measures will likely bring legal challenges against the successful initiatives and fight to keep other abortion regulations in place, like waiting periods and mandatory counseling.