These states have abortion laws on the ballot for the 2024 election

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These states have ********* laws on the ballot for the 2024 election

Washington — The 2024 election will not only decide who succeeds President Biden in the White House, but in 10 states, voters will also have the chance to weigh in on ********* access through ballot measures.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which had established the right to an ********* in the U.S. Constitution, ********* rights groups have turned to ballot initiatives to put the issue of reproductive rights squarely before voters.

Proponents have already seen successes with this approach in 2022 and 2023, when there were *********-related initiatives on the ballot in seven states.

If the latest ballot measures are successful in expanding ********* access, they would override stringent bans on the procedure in five states. Roughly two dozen states have enacted ********* restrictions after Roe was reversed, and 14 of those states have near-total bans with limited exceptions.

Here’s where ********* is on the ballot in 2024:

Arizona

A ballot measure, known as

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, would create a “fundamental right” to ********* in Arizona. Under the proposed change to the state’s constitution, the state would not be able to “interfere with this fundamental right before fetal viability unless it has a compelling reason and does so in the least restrictive way possible.” Fetal viability is generally understood to be between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy, and is defined in the ballot measure as the point when “the fetus has a significant likelihood of survival outside the *******,” as determined by a healthcare professional. 

A yes vote would enshrine the right in the state constitution. ********* is currently legal in Arizona within the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. The measure requires more than 50% of support from voters to be approved.   

Colorado

Colorado’s

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would amend the state’s constitution to add a section recognizing the right to *********. The question on the ballot asks whether there should “be a change to the Colorado constitution recognizing the right to ********* and, in connection therewith, prohibiting the state and local governments from denying, impeding, or discriminating against the exercise of that right, allowing ********* to be a covered service under health insurance plans for Colorado state and local government employees and for enrollees in state and local governmental insurance programs.”

The ballot measure would roll back a constitutional amendment approved by voters 40 years ago that barred the use of state funds for abortions.

Amendment 79 requires 55% approval since it adds language to the state constitution, according to the Colorado secretary of state. Colorado law currently protects the right to *********.

Florida

Known as

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, or the “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with *********,” the measure would override Florida’s ban on ********* after six weeks and enshrine ********* rights into the state constitution.

The text of the amendment states that “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict ********* before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s health care provider.” It would leave in place a parental notification requirement for a minor seeking an *********.

The ballot measure requires support from 60% of voters in order to pass. 

Florida’s proposal garnered attention this summer when former President Donald Trump, who resides at a private club in Palm Beach, criticized the state’s current six-week ban and said he was “going to be voting that we need more than six weeks.” The *********** presidential nominee quickly backtracked and said that while he disagrees with Florida’s ban, he would be voting “no” on the ballot measure.

Maryland

********* is legal in Maryland, but voters will have the chance to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution by amending its Declaration of Rights.

The state’s Question 1 would confirm “an individual’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including but not limited to the ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end the individual’s pregnancy, and provides 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.”

The initiative requires support from more than 50% of voters to win approval.

Missouri

********* is currently banned in Missouri except when there is a “medical emergency,” but voters will have a chance to weigh in on Amendment 3, which, if approved, would amend the Missouri Constitution to unwind that ban.

Called the “

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,” it would establish a constitutional right to reproductive freedom, which is described as the right to “make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive health care,” including prenatal care, child care, birth control and *********.

The measure would allow the state to restrict or ban ********* after fetal viability, considered to be between 22 and 24 weeks into pregnancy, except when necessary to protect the life or health of the mother. It also would prohibit the government from discriminating against any person providing or obtaining reproductive health care in government programs, funding or other activities.

Amendment 3 requires a simple majority to pass.

Montana

In Montana,

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is a constitutional initiative that would change the state constitution to “expressly provide a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to *********.”

The measure would bar the government from “denying or burdening” the right to terminate a pregnancy before fetal viability and prohibit the state from denying or burdening access to an ********* when a medical professional determines it’s needed to protect the mother’s life or health.

Ballot Issue 14 would also prevent the government from punishing patients, health care providers or others who assist a person in “exercising their right to make and carry out voluntary decisions about their pregnancy.”

The vote in Montana comes two years after voters rejected a legislative referendum adopting the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, which declared that infants born alive, including after an *********, are legal persons.

********* is legal in Montana up to fetal viability after the state supreme court recognized the right to ********* under its constitution.

Nebraska

Two

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are on the ballot in Nebraska — one that would establish a right to ********* until fetal viability and another that would enshrine ********* restrictions in the state constitution.

Initiative 434 would amend the state constitution to restrict ********* in the second and third trimesters, except in the case of “a medical emergency or when the pregnancy results from ******* ******** or *******.” 

Initiative 439 would amend the state constitution to create a right to ********* “without interference from the state or its political subdivisions” until fetal viability. Fetal viability is described as when a health care provider deems there is “significant likelihood of the fetus’ sustained survival” outside of the *******, which is generally between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy. 

********* is currently legal in Nebraska until 12 weeks of pregnancy. According to the state’s constitution, if two conflicting measures are approved during the same election, the highest vote-getter will become law. 

Nevada

Nevada’s Question 6 proposes amending the state constitution to make ********* access an individual right. Approval of the “Reproductive Freedom Amendment” is a first step and places the issue on the general election ballot in 2026, since constitutional amendments have to be approved twice by voters.

The

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would guarantee that every individual has a “fundamental freedom” which includes the right to make decisions about pregnancy-related matters like prenatal care, contraception and *********. It would allow the state to regulate ********* after fetal viability, except when necessary to “protect the life or physical or mental health” of the mother.

The measure requires simple majority support to pass. 

New York

In New York, a measure known as

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will appear on the ballot. Though ********* isn’t explicitly mentioned in the ballot measure, supporters say it would safeguard ********* protections by defining “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy” as protected classes under the state constitution. 

The state’s constitution currently protects against discrimination on the basis of “race, ******, creed or religion.” The proposal, known as the Equal Rights Amendment, would add ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, ****, ******* orientation, gender identity and gender expression, to that list, in addition to the reproductive rights-related language. 

In the Empire State, ********* is legal until 24 weeks of pregnancy. 

South Dakota

********* is currently banned in South Dakota, except when necessary to save the life of the mother, but

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would override that near-total ban if approved by voters.

The measure establishes a constitutional right to ********* and a legal framework for regulation of ********* by the state, which would take the place of existing laws and regulations on the issue.

Under the amendment, the state would not restrict ********* during the first trimester, leaving it instead up to the pregnant woman. The state would, however, regulate ********* in the second trimester only if it is “reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.” After the end of the second trimester, the state would regulate or ban *********, except when needed to preserve the life or health of the mother.

A “yes” vote would adopt the amendment, while a “no” vote would keep South Dakota’s current law intact.

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Melissa Quinn

Melissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.

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