Abortion rights fared well in ballot measures in Tuesday’s elections in California, Michigan, Vermont, Kentucky, and Montana, and may have provided a boost to Democrats that staved off an expected red wave.
The results indicate that, after the June Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, voters are favorable to abortion rights when voting on them directly, even as governors who signed abortion restrictions into law prevailed in several states, such as Ohio and Texas.
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Tuesday’s result follows a decisive vote in favor of abortion rights in Kansas in August, in which voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot amendment that would remove the right to an abortion from the state constitution.
Michigan
Michigan voters approved Proposal 3, which will codify a broad new individual right to “reproductive freedom” in the state constitution and protect abortion access.
The measure will override a 1931 state law, currently blocked from taking effect, that would make performing an abortion a felony in most cases.
The vote concludes a heated campaign between proponents seeking to safeguard abortion access and opponents claiming it could allow minors to obtain abortions or undergo gender transition procedures without parental consent.
The ballot measure may have aided Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in winning her reelection campaign. Whitmer campaigned hard on protecting abortion access.
California
California voters approved Proposition 1, which will amend the state’s constitution to enshrine the right to reproductive freedom, defined as including the right to have an abortion and the right to choose or refuse contraceptives.
California’s constitution currently guarantees a right to privacy but does not explicitly include abortion. The state’s highest court has recognized abortion rights since 1969, four years prior to Roe.
Vermont
Voters easily approved the Vermont Right to Personal Reproductive Autonomy Amendment, which will amend the state’s constitution to include language enshrining the right to personal reproductive liberty, a measure meant to protect access to abortion.
Vermont already has a law on the books that recognizes the right to abortion access from 2019, which is when the legislature also began the process of amending the constitution. Abortion is currently legal in the state at all stages of pregnancy.
Montana
An anti-abortion measure performed poorly in the red state of Montana.
Montana voters had the chance to weigh in on Legislative Referendum 131, an initiative to require healthcare providers to perform lifesaving care on infants “born alive,” which could include after an abortion.
The measure would adopt the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, which establishes that infants who are “born alive” at any stage of development are legal persons and are entitled to medical treatment. It would also impose criminal penalties on health providers who do not take “necessary actions” to preserve their lives, including a $50,000 fine and/or 20 years in prison.
As of Tuesday morning, the “no” vote on the measure was slightly ahead, with 80% of the vote in.
Abortion is currently legal in Montana until viability as three restrictive abortion laws remain held up in the courts.
Kentucky
The Republican-led Amendment 2, which would amend the state constitution to specify that it does not “secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion,” was rejected by Kentucky voters.
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Abortions are illegal in most circumstances in Kentucky unless they are necessary to save the mother’s life or to prevent serious illness due to a law that took effect after the Supreme Court ruling.
Still, Kentucky voters reelected Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who describes himself as “100% pro-life.”
