Repro Rights Report
Results of abortion ballot initiatives in 2024
Posted on November 13, 2024
Voters in seven states — including deeply conservative Missouri and Montana, as well as the “purple” states Arizona and Nevada — approved ballot initiatives to protect or expand access to abortion.
Crucially, constitutional amendments in Arizona and Missouri will expand abortion access far beyond what state laws currently allow.
For vote counts, see this page from the New York Times.
Arizona, won 62%-38%
Arizona for Abortion Access won a ballot measure to make abortion a constitutional right, allowing abortions until fetal viability or later if an abortion is needed to protect the pregnant person’s life or health. Currently, abortion is banned after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with some exceptions. This is a huge victory.
Colorado, won 62%-38%
Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom won a constitutional amendment to guarantee the right to abortion and allow insurance coverage of abortion. The amendment repeals a nearly 40-year-old ban on state and local government money being used to pay for abortion services, another big win for women’s health.
Florida, failed to win 60% of the vote, got 57% instead
Floridians Protecting Freedom led the effort for a state constitutional right to abortion until viability which the state government used taxpayer resources to oppose. In Florida, a constitutional amendment requires a 60 percent supermajority of the vote, so it narrowly lost. Florida has banned abortion beyond six weeks of pregnancy, which is before many people know they’re pregnant, so this is a disaster for millions of people.
Maryland, won 75%-25%
The state legislature put a constitutional right to abortion on the November ballot and the Right to Reproductive Freedom initiative led the successful campaign. Abortion is already legal in the state until fetal viability—or after that if necessary to protect the pregnant person’s life or health, or if the fetus has a serious abnormality—but, as with the initiative in Colorado, supporters wanted to prevent the possibility of state lawmakers restricting access in the future.
Missouri, won 52%-48%
Missourians for Constitutional Freedom won a hard-fought victory, amending the state constitution to guarantee the right to abortion until fetal viability, with exceptions after that if the pregnant person’s life or physical or mental health is at risk. This will invalidate Missouri’s existing near-total ban on abortion, which is one of the strictest in the country.
Montana, won 58%-42%
Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights led the successful fight for an abortion rights constitutional amendment. Abortion is currently legal until fetal viability in Montana, and the Montana Supreme Court ruled in 1999 that abortion is protected under the state constitution. But state lawmakers have tried to restrict abortion in the past few years, and reproductive rights advocates said that the measure would protect abortion rights if lawmakers continue those attempts in the future.
Nebraska, lost 49%-51%
Protect Our Rights fought a close fight but lost after the Republican establishment coalesced around a modest ban instead of a total ban. About 55 percent of voters backed a measure that will amend the state constitution to include a ban on abortion in the second and third trimesters, with exceptions for medical emergencies, rape, or incest. The Protect Our Rights initiative, which would have guaranteed abortion rights until fetal viability got 49 percent of the vote.
Nevada, won 64%-36%
Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom led the fight for an abortion rights constitutional amendment and voters approved. Voters will need to approve it again in 2026 in order to officially amend the state constitution. Nevada currently allows abortions until the 24th week of pregnancy.
New York, won 62%-38%
Like Maryland, the New York legislature placed this abortion rights constitutional amendment on the ballot. It adds language to the state’s Equal Rights Amendment saying no one can face discrimination because of “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.” Abortion is currently allowed until fetal viability in New York.
South Dakota, lost 41%-59%
Dakotans for Health placed a ballot measure that would have protected first-trimester abortions. Unfortunately, it lost so South Dakota’s near-total abortion ban will remain in place.