Abortion is on the ballot in nine states and is motivating voters across the US.

WASHINGTON – Voters in nine states are deciding whether their state constitutions should guarantee abortion rights, weighing ballot measures that are expected to boost turnout in a number of important races.

Passage of certain amendments in Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota would likely eliminate bans or restrictions that currently block varying levels of access to abortion for the more than 7 million women of childbearing age living in those states.

The future legality and availability of abortion depends on more than just the outcome of the vote, as policies can change depending on who controls Congress and the presidency. So do state governments, including legislatures that craft new laws, state supreme courts that determine the constitutionality of laws, attorneys general that decide whether to defend them, and district attorneys that enforce them.

If all the abortion rights measures pass, “it will be a sign of how strong support for reproductive rights has become,” said Mary Ziegler, a professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law and an expert on the history of reproductive rights. in the USA

“If some of them fail,” she added, “then you will see some conservatives looking for advice to see what the magic ingredient was that allowed the conservatives to stem the tide.”

Voters support abortion rights

Abortion rights advocates dominated on all seven measures introduced since 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended nationwide abortion rights. The decision opened the door to bans and restrictions in most GOP-controlled states, as well as access protections in most Democratic-controlled states.

Abortion rights campaigns matter. advantage in fundraising this year. Their opponents’ efforts are aimed at portraying the amendments as too extreme, rather than portraying abortion as immoral.

Currently, 13 states impose bans on all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions. Another four abortion bars occur in most cases around six weeks into pregnancy – before women often realize they are pregnant. Despite the prohibitions, number of abortions per month in the United States has increased slightly due to the growing use of abortion pills and organized efforts to help women travel for abortions. Still, advocates say the bans have limited accessespecially for low-income and minority residents of states with bans.

The bans are also part of a key argument in the presidential race. Vice President Kamala Harris calls them “Trump abortion bans,” noting former President Donald Trump’s role in overturning Roe v. Wade. Harris, meanwhile, has positioned herself as an outspoken and consistent advocate for reproductive health and rights, including black maternal health.

Trump has struggled to bridge the divide between his own pro-life base and most Americans who support abortion rights based on his overarching response that abortion rights should be left to individual states.

His changing positions on reproductive rights include an oath in October veto a national abortion banjust a few weeks after the presidential debate, when he repeatedly refused say. Trump also regularly took credit for appointing three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.

Trump’s attempt to find more cautious position The issue of abortion echoes the efforts of many Republican congressional candidates, as the issue has become a major vulnerability for the Republican Party. In competitive congressional races from coast to coast, Republicans distanced themselves from more aggressive anti-abortion policies coming from their party and its allies, despite their record on the issue and previous statements against abortion rights.

The measures could overturn bans in five states.

While voting issues have similar goals, each is subject to different political circumstances.

There is an additional hurdle to pass the protections in reliably Republican Florida: Supporters of the amendment must receive at least 60% of the vote.

Passing the law there and lifting the 6-week ban that came into force in May would be a blow to Governor Ron DeSantisa Republican of national stature who led Republican Party state funds to the point and whose administration also intervened in the campaign against this measure, investigators interrogate people who signed petitions to put it on the ballot and threats to TV channels One commercial was shown in support of it.

Nebraska has competing ballot measures. It would be possible to allow abortion in later stages of pregnancy. The other would enshrine into the constitution the current state law, which bans most abortions after 12 weeks but allows further restrictions.

In South Dakota, the measure would introduce some rules regarding a woman’s health after 12 weeks. Because of this problem, most national abortion rights groups do not support it.

In some states, especially Missouri, the adopted amendments may not expand access immediately. Courts will be asked to invalidate the bans; and there may be legal battles over this. Clinics will need to staff and obtain licenses. And some restrictions may remain in place.

Arizona, a presidential battleground, bans abortions after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The ballot measure there received a boost after the state Supreme Court ruled in April that the state could enforce a strict abortion ban passed in 1864. Some GOP lawmakers joined Democrats. repeal the law before it could be carried out.

These measures will consolidate existing access laws in other countries.

In Democratic-controlled Colorado and Maryland, ballot measures would largely incorporate existing policies into state constitutions, although Colorado’s version could also eliminate financial barriers to abortion. It will take 55% of the vote to get there.

Measures to preserve access are also on the ballot in Montana, where the U.S. Senate race could help determine control of the chamber, and in Nevada, a battleground in the presidential election.

In Nevada, where control of state government is divided, the bill would need to pass this year and again in 2026 for it to take effect.

New York also has a bill that supporters say would strengthen abortion rights. This does not contain the word “abortion” but rather prohibits discrimination based on “pregnancy outcomes, reproductive health, and autonomy.”