Voters in California, Michigan, Vermont, Kentucky, and Montana will weigh in on ballot measures this November deciding on the future of abortion access in their states.
All six states have proposed ballot initiatives that will either codify or restrict abortion rights, an increasingly galvanizing issue following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in June, eliminating the federal right to the procedure.
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Many Democratic candidates have come out in support of measures that would protect abortion access, hoping to paint a contrast with their Republican opponents and arguing that the GOP would pass a federal abortion ban if the party regained the majority in the House of Representatives and Senate.
Meanwhile, several states have already made moves to restrict or expand abortion access. Kansas was the first to vote on a ballot measure since the ruling, overwhelmingly rejecting a ballot amendment that would remove the right to an abortion from the state constitution in August.
If Michigan, California, and/or Vermont pass their ballot initiatives, they will become the first state(s) to have a constitutional provision that enshrines the right to an abortion.
Michigan
Michigan voters will consider Proposal 3, which would codify a broad new individual right to “reproductive freedom” in the state constitution, which supporters say would protect abortion access.
The amendment would provide the right to “make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care,” according to its text.
It also would specify that the state cannot prosecute or penalize people based on their “actual, potential, perceived, or alleged pregnancy outcomes,” including abortion, miscarriage, or stillbirth.
A “no” vote would oppose adding the amendment.
The proposal was heralded by the Michigan Right to Reproductive Freedom, a group of activists that led a drive to get signatures from Michigan voters to put the amendment on the ballot in November. The state’s election board certified that more than 500,000 of the 700,000 signatures collected were valid, surpassing the minimum to appear on the ballot, though the four-member Board of Canvassers failed to advance it after remaining deadlocked in a 2-2 vote in August.
The group appealed the decision to the state’s Supreme Court, which ruled in a 5-2 decision in September to add the measure to the ballot.
Abortion remains legal in Michigan until viability, while a 1931 state law that would make performing an abortion a felony in most cases remains blocked from taking effect. Supporters of the proposal say it would permanently invalidate the dormant law.
California
California voters will decide on Proposition 1, which would amend the state’s constitution to enshrine the right to reproductive freedom. Reproductive freedom is defined as including the right to have an abortion and the right to choose or refuse contraceptives.
“The state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives,” the new section to the constitution will read if approved.
California’s constitution 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.
California’s Democratic-controlled legislature pushed the measure through in June to “build a firewall around this right in our state constitution,” legislative leaders and Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement.
If a “no” vote wins, then the state constitution will not be changed, though rights to reproductive freedom would remain protected under state law, according to California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Vermont
An initiative in Vermont aims to add a state constitutional amendment to codify a right to make reproductive decisions.
The Vermont Right to Personal Reproductive Autonomy Amendment would amend the state’s constitution to include language enshrining the right to personal reproductive liberty, not to be infringed or denied unless there is a compelling state interest “achieved by the least restrictive means.”
Supporters of the amendment say that while it does not explicitly say “abortion,” it would 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.
If a “no” vote is chosen, then the amendment will not be added to the state constitution.
Montana
Montana voters will have the chance to weigh in on Legislative Referendum 131, an initiative that would 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.
“Born alive” is defined as an infant who has a beating heart or “has definite movement of voluntary muscles” after “expulsion or extraction” from the mother as a result of natural or induced labor, cesarean section, induced abortion, or another method, according to the act.
The Republican-controlled legislature previously approved the state statute to be placed on the ballot. If the measure is passed, then it will take effect on Jan. 1, 2023. If a “no” vote on the legislative referendum wins, then the law would not be added.
Abortion is currently legal in Montana until viability as three restrictive abortion laws remain held up in the courts.
Kentucky
Kentucky voters will vote on a GOP-led Amendment 2, which aims to amend the state constitution to specify that it does not “secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”
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“Amendment Two, if passed, will prevent Kentucky courts from issuing their own Roe v. Wade,” said Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams in May. The amendment, if passed, would go into effect immediately. If a “no” vote wins, then no action will be taken.
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 trigger law that took effect after the Supreme Court ruling.
