Abortion ballot initiatives pass in most states, fall short in others

November 06, 2024

Voters supported abortion ballot initiatives in most of the ten states in which it was under consideration.

In Arizona, with 86% of precincts reporting, voters approved Proposition 139 by a 62%-38% margin, enshrining abortion as a fundamental right in the state constitution, thus allowing for the killing of unborn children throughout pregnancy.

In Colorado, voters approved Amendment 79 by a 61%-39% margin, enshrining abortion as a right in the state constitution, thus allowing for the killing of unborn children throughout pregnancy. The amendment also allows for public funding of abortions.

In Florida, voters supported Amendment 4 by a 57%-43% margin, falling short of the 60% margin needed to amend the state constitution. Current Florida law, which protects most unborn children from abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy, remains in place.

In Maryland, voters approved Question 1 by a 74%-26% margin, enshrining reproductive freedom as a right in the state constitution, thus allowing for the killing of unborn children throughout pregnancy.

In Missouri, voters approved Amendment 3 by a 52%-48% margin, enshrining reproductive freedom as a fundamental right in the state constitution, thus allowing for the killing of unborn children throughout pregnancy.

In Montana, with 41% of precincts fully reporting and 50% of precincts partially reporting, voters were slated to approve Constitutional Initiative 128 by a 57%-43% margin, enshrining abortion as a right in the state constitution, but permitting lawmakers to regulate abortion after viability.

In Nebraska, voters approved Initiative Measure 434 by a 55%-45% margin, thus ratifying current state law, which protects most unborn children from abortion during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, but permits their killing during the first trimester. Voters rejected the competing Initiative Measure 439 by a 51%-49% margin; the measure would have extended the killing of unborn children to any time before fetal viability.

In Nevada, voters approved State Ballot Question No. 6 by a 63%-37% margin, enshrining abortion as a right in the state constitution until fetal viability, thus permitting the killing of unborn children during the first two trimesters of pregnancy.

In New York, voters approved Amendment 1 by a 57%-35% margin, with 8% of ballots blank. The New York State Catholic Conference described the measure as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”:

Courts could decide that parents have no authority over their minor children on important matters and permit children to make destructive and permanent decisions on their own which they could well live to regret, including but not limited to so-called “gender affirming” treatments and surgeries ... This amendment disregards the lives of unborn and struggling children in the name of political agendas.

In South Dakota, with most precincts reporting, voters rejected Constitutional Amendment G by a 60%-40% margin. The measure would have enshrined a right to abortion in the state constitution, under a trimester framework.

 

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