Voters extend abortion access in 7 of 10 state referendums

Out of the ten abortion protection referendums presented to voters yesterday, seven have passed, expanding access to the care for millions of Americans.

Previously, every pro-choice referendum following the overturning of Roe v. Wade had passed. Only South Dakota and Nebraska voted not to enshrine protections, becoming the first states to reject such measures by simple majorities. In Florida, over 57 percent of voters cast their ballots in favor of protections, but fell short of meeting the 60 percent supermajority required.

"While we are disappointed with the Florida ballot measure election results not meeting the 60 percent threshold, we still saw the majority of Floridians voting in support of abortion access," Nourbese Flint, president of the abortion rights group All In Action Fund, said in a statement. "This outcome is a direct result of anti-democratic tactics designed to undermine the will of the people and Floridians’ access to life-saving medical care."

Nebraska voters were presented with two intentionally confusing conflicting referendums: one that would have established the state constitutional right to an abortion up until fetal viability, and another that bans abortion in the second and third trimesters with exceptions for sexual assault or medical emergencies. Abortion was already banned in Nebraska after 12 weeks, when the second trimester begins.

Still, the referendums passed in the blue states of Colorado, Maryland, and New York, as well as in the swing states of Arizona and Nevada. Notably, New York voters overwhelmingly approved the Equal Rights Amendment, adding ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes to anti-discrimination laws.

In deep-red Missouri and Montana, voters also enshrined abortions protections in their state constitutions. Missouri became the first state to overturn an abortion ban through a referendum, nullifying the state's near-total abortion ban. Abortion Action Fund, the group that sponsored the referendum, said in a statement that "today, Missourians spoke definitively."

"We deserve the freedom to access abortion, to access all reproductive and pregnancy care at all points in our lives, on our own terms, and with dignity and respect," it wrote. "Not only did we prove the majority of Missourians oppose political interference in abortion access, we’ve made abortion a part of everyday conversation for so many who were scared or uncomfortable or ashamed to talk about it before. And this is just the beginning. Tomorrow we get to work to sustain and grow our power and our movement."