Pro-Abortion and Pro-Life Advocates in front of the U.S. Supreme Court
on June 24, 2022, when Roe v. Wade was overturned.

 

Friends,

We all know. Abortion is on the November ballot, especially the Presidential election — the first Presidential election since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe two years ago with the Dobbs decision.

Dobbs was a long-fought, monumental win for the pro-life movement, returning the question of abortion access to the states. But the well-moneyed, calculating pro-abortion regime was ready and waiting in the dark wings.

For the past two years since the overturn of Roe, the pro-abortion side has been fighting relentlessly at the state level to place extreme measures on the ballot to ensure and normalize radical abortion access in our country UP UNTIL BIRTH FOR ANY REASON.

We must have complete moral clarity about the nationwide repercussions that are at stake in the 10 state ballot initiatives.

10 STATES Have a Constitutional Right to Abortion on the 2024 Ballot

In April, Council for Life reported on the ballot measures being proposed in the 2024 November election to enshrine abortion access in state constitutions across the country. (See Council for Life News HERE)

In 2023, seven states voted resoundingly to protect or restore access to abortion— California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont. The setback was particularly disheartening since Kansas, Kentucky and Ohio are considered pro-life states. 

The pro-abortion movement viewed those “victories” as an enormous opportunity to direct that “momentum” with more state abortion ballot initiatives this November which is precisely what they have done.

Abortion proponents hope these ballot measures will be powerful tools against state abortion bans and drive voter turnout, potentially affecting the election by picking up votes in the races for U.S. President, about 1/3 of the U.S. Senate, the entire U.S. House of Representative and Governor in roughly 1/5 of the states. 

The 10 STATES in Play

The 10 states that currently have abortion on the November ballot are: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York and South Dakota. 

Below are snapshots of these November ballot abortion measures to amend state constitutions to enshrine abortion rights through all 9 months of pregnancy, without limits. A state constitutional right prevails over any provision of state law. Interestingly, in Colorado and Maryland abortion is already available until birth with no limits. 

ARIZONA

  • Citizen-led Proposition 139
  • Purpose: Create “a fundamental right to abortion” under Arizona Constitution. State will not “interfere” with this right before “fetal viability” or when a “health care professional” determines that an abortion is necessary to protect the life or “health” of the “pregnant individual”. State will not penalize any “person” assisting a “pregnant individual” in exercising the right to an abortion.
  • Current Abortion Law: Banned after 15 weeks
  • Vote Needed to Pass: More than 50%

COLORADO

  • Citizen-led Amendment 79 
  • Purpose: Recognize “the right to abortion” in Colorado Constitution. Government will not “deny” the exercise of that right. Allows the use of public funds for abortion.
  • Current Abortion Law: NO LIMIT
  • Vote Needed to Pass: Supermajority of 55%

FLORIDA

  • Citizen-led Amendment 4
  • Purpose: Limit government “interference” with abortion in Florida Constitution before “viability” or when necessary to protect the “patient’s health” as determined by the patient’s “healthcare provider”.
  • Current Abortion Law: Banned after 6 weeks
  • Vote Needed to Pass: Supermajority of 60%

MARYLAND

  • Senate Bill 798 
  • Current Abortion Law: NO LIMIT
  • Purpose: Establish “the fundament right to reproductive freedom” in Maryland Constitution. Prohibits “denying” the right.
  • Vote Needed to Pass: More than 50%

MISSOURI

  • Citizen-led Amendment 3
  • Purpose: Enshrine “a fundamental right to reproductive freedom” including abortion “care” in Missouri Constitution. This right will not be “denied” or “interfered” with until after “Fetal Viability” or when a “health care professional” determines an abortion is needed to protect the life or physical or “mental health” of the “pregnant person”. Prohibits penalizing or prosecuting any “person” assisting a “person” in exercising their right to reproductive freedom.
  • Current Abortion Law: Abortion ban except in cases of medical emergency
  • Vote Needed to Pass: More than 50%

MONTANA

  • Citizen-led Amendment CI-128 
  • Purpose: Expressly provide “the right to abortion” in Montana Constitution. Prohibits government from “denying” or “burdening” the right to abortion before “fetal viability” or when a “healthcare professional” determines it is needed to protect the “pregnant patient’s” life or “health”. Prevents government from penalizing “anyone” assisting “someone” in exercising their right about their pregnancy.
  • Current Abortion Law: Banned at fetal viability
  • Vote Needed to Pass: Greater than 50%

NEBRASKA

  • Citizen-led Pro-Life Nebraska Initiative 434 v. Citizen-led Pro-Abortion Nebraska Initiative 439  
  • Purpose: Nebraska Initiative 434 would ban abortion in Nebraska Constitution in the second and third trimesters, with exceptions for a medical emergency, rape or incest. Nebraska Initiative 439 would enshrine “the fundamental right to abortion” in Nebraska Constitution for “all” persons without “interference” from the state until “fetal viability” or when needed to protect the life or “health” of the “pregnant patient”.
  • Current Abortion Limit: Banned at 12 weeks
  • Vote Needed to Pass: If both amendments receive more than 50% of the vote, the amendment that has the greater number of yes votes wins.

NEVADA

  • Citizen-led Question 6
  • Purpose: Create “an individual’s fundamental right to abortion” in Nevada Constitution, without “interference” by state or local governments, when performed by a qualified “healthcare practitioner” until “fetal viability” or when necessary to protect the life or “health” of the “pregnant individual”.
  • Current Abortion Law: Banned after 24 weeks
  • Vote Needed to Pass: More than 50% but if passed, must also appear on the 2026 ballot

NEW YORK

  • Legislator-led Proposal 1
  • Purpose: Enshrine abortion rights in New York Constitution by protecting “against unequal treatment based on…pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes, as well as reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”
  • Current Abortion Law: Banned at fetal viability
  • Vote Needed to Pass: More than 50%

SOUTH DAKOTA

  • Citizen-led Amendment G 
  • Purpose: Establish “a right to abortion” in South Dakota Constitution, with a trimester framework for regulation. During the first trimester, abortion is allowed and may not be regulated. In the second trimester, any regulation of abortion must be reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman. In the third trimester, regulation or prohibition of abortion is allowed except when necessary to preserve the life or “health” of the pregnant woman as determined by her physician.
  • Current Abortion Law: Banned with limited exceptions
  • Vote Needed to Pass: More than 50%

Language in State Ballot Measures Criticized for Vagueness

Opponents say these state ballot measures are vague and will confuse voters because critical terms are ambiguously defined or not defined at all. (See Washington Stand article HERE)

  • Terms like “interfere”, “deny” or “burden” in reference to abortion rights can eliminate basic health and safety standards intended to protect women.
  • The term “viability” — generally 23 weeks and after, therefore, considered a late-term abortion — is the stage of pregnancy when an unborn baby can survive outside the womb with medical support. The application of the term “viability” varies over time with the advancement of medical technology and skills. The meaning of viability becomes open to interpretation and discretionary.
  • The “health”, “emotional health” or “mental health” for the “life of the mother” exception expands physical health to mental health which could be anything, therefore creating a wide, unlimited exception.
  • The term “healthcare provider”, “healthcare practitioner” or “healthcare professional” eliminates the requirement of a licensed physician and could even mean a Planned Parenthood or other abortion clinic staff member.

Terms like “all persons”, “pregnant person”, “pregnant patient” or “pregnant individual” could mean a female of any age, including minors.

THE CONSEQUENCE? These abortion measures:

(1) allow abortion through all 9 months, without limits.

(2) eliminate basic health and safety standards designed to protect women.
(3) allow minors to have abortions without parental consent.

In addition, these ballot measures remove laws to penalize or prosecute any individual assisting with an abortion resulting in the protection of sexual abusers, sex traffickers, rapists and other criminals.

“The radicalism of the pro-abortion movement, the death embracing logic of the abortion rights movement is very much here on display.” — Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

(See detailed 2024 Abortion Ballot Information from 2024 Council for Life Beneficiary Students for Life of America at abortionballot.com)

What is Late-Term Abortion?

These state ballot measures allow for late-term abortion. “Late-term abortion” refers to abortions at least in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy, when an unborn child can feel pain. A day or two before the abortion is performed, the physician usually administers a maternal transabdominal injection of potassium chloride or digoxin into the heart or head of the unborn child, to ensure that he or she is dead upon delivery. Uterine evacuation is then performed. For younger, smaller babies, suction is used to remove as much tissue and soft body parts as possible, followed by forceps for removal of larger and harder body parts. For older, larger babies, dismemberment with forceps is used (grasping and pulling off limbs for removal). The brain is usually then removed by suction and the skull crushed for removal. (See Questions and Answers on Late-Term Abortion from the Lozier Institute HERE and 2nd Trimester Surgical Abortion: Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) video produced by Live Action HERE)

Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that approximately 1.1% to 1.3% of abortions are late-term abortions. Using the Guttmacher Institute’s current U.S. abortion numbers of over 1,000,000 per year, that translates into more than 10,000 late-term abortions in our country each year.

Abortion Proponents Have Spent Millions Pushing the Ballot Initiatives
Florida Pushes Back on Amendment 4

Abortion proponents are hoping to benefit from spending millions of dollars on ads and field operations in states with abortion measures on the ballot. (See Washington Post article HERE)

The pro-life side is fighting aggressively as well. In Florida, for example, a campaign by Vote No on 4 has spent millions on ads to defeat Amendment 4, describing the ballot initiative as “deceptive and extreme”. The group has organized a coalition of pro-life physicians from across the state to help raise alarm about the dangers of Amendment 4. (See Vote No on 4 website HERE)

U.S. Abortion Policies and Access After Roe

The above Guttmacher Institute map groups states into one of seven categories based on abortion policies in effect. You can select any state for details about abortion policies, characteristics of state residents and key abortion statistics, or select a policy to see which states have bans, restrictions or protections in place. (See Guttmacher Institute interactive map of U.S. Abortion Policies and Access After Roe as of October 1, 2024 HERE)

The Potential Election Outcomes and Repercussions

From the state to the highest federal level, the November election will impact abortion access.

Vice President and Presidential candidate Kamala Harris recently said she would support eliminating the filibuster in the U.S. Senate to bring back federal protections for abortion access.

Harris said during an interview last week with Wisconsin Public Radio:

“I’ve been very clear, I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe, and get us to the point where 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do.”

In May 2022, Vice President Harris presided over the Women’s Health Protection Act vote and lamented that the U.S. Senate did not have the votes to pass it. The Women’s Health Protection Act is a radical abortion bill that would effectively codify into U.S. federal law an unlimited nationwide right to abortion up until birth and eradicate all State Government restrictions on abortion. (See Council for Life News HERE)

Join Us in Prayer

Please join Council for Life in prayer that every American law and state constitution will recognize and uphold the worth and dignity of every human life.