After Ohio’s Issue 1 vote legalized abortion with no gestational limit, the pro-abortion lobby is planning to put similar referendums on the ballots of many other states.
As of November 14, pro-abortion initiatives are guaranteed to be on the ballots of two deep-blue states: Maryland and New York. However, abortion is currently legal in both states until so-called “fetal viability” – which is usually defined as falling between 23 and 24 weeks of pregnancy. Loopholes allow killing babies in abortions up to birth in both states.
In many other states, the prospect of putting abortion to a vote next year comes with much higher stakes. Most but not all of these efforts are being pushed by the pro-abortion side.
Pro-life advocates are playing a rare game of offense in Iowa and Pennsylvania, where residents may vote on an amendment stating that there is no “right to abortion” in each state’s constitution.
The success of such a measure is more likely in Iowa than in Pennsylvania given the fact that each amendment has to be approved by the state legislature for it to go in front of voters. While Republicans enjoy a large majority in both houses of the Iowa Legislature, Democrats hold a one-seat advantage in the Pennsylvania House.
Colorado is a rare state where both sides are attempting to put constitutional amendments to a vote. It is one of several states where abortion is legal on demand at any stage of pregnancy.
While the pro-life side wants to vote on adding protections for pregnant women and the unborn, the pro-abortion side wants an amendment preventing any regulation of abortion in the future.
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The Associated Press (AP) stated that in Colorado, “neither side has settled on specific language” so far. “Both sides have until Aug. 5 to gather more than 124,000 signatures. Any measure would need at least 55% of votes to pass.”
The AP also reported that Democratic Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee “in 2022 pushed for lawmakers to add a question to the ballot to protect abortion access, but so far the legislature has not advanced it.”
Abortion in the reliably blue state is legal up until “fetal viability.”
This leaves six states where the abortion lobby is in the process of gathering signatures to place an Ohio-like pro-abortion amendment on the November 2024 ballot.
Here is the diverse group of states, listed in alphabetical order.
Arizona
What the amendment will do: Legalize abortion up until “fetal viability”
Signatures required for it to go on the ballot: 383,923
Deadline to get it on the ballot: July 3, 2024
Vote threshold required to pass (if on ballot): simple majority (50% + 1)
Current abortion law in the state: Legal until 15 weeks of gestation
Florida
What the amendment will do: Legalize abortion up until “fetal viability”
Signatures required for it to go on the ballot: 891,523
Deadline to get it on the ballot: February 1, 2024
Vote threshold required to pass (if on the ballot): 60%
Current abortion law in the state: Legal until 15 weeks of gestation (a six-week “heartbeat” law is pending a legal challenge)
Missouri
What the amendment will do: Legalize abortion up until “fetal viability”
Signatures required for it to go on the ballot: 171,592
Deadline to get it on the ballot: May 5, 2024
Vote threshold required to pass (if on ballot): simple majority (50% + 1)
Current abortion law in the state: Illegal in most cases
Nebraska
What the amendment will do: Expand the legality of abortion in the state. Per AP, its “exact language has not been approved or made public.”
Signatures required for it to go on the ballot: about 123,000
Deadline to get it on the ballot: July 5, 2024
Vote threshold required to pass (if on ballot): simple majority (50% + 1)
Current abortion law in the state: Legal until 12 weeks gestation
Nevada
What the amendment will do: According to the AP, the measure “would reinforce the state’s current policy that allows abortion up to 24 weeks, but further enshrine it in the state constitution and make it more difficult to overturn.”
Signatures required for it to go on the ballot: 102,362
Deadline to get it on the ballot: June 26, 2024
Vote threshold required to pass (if on ballot): simple majority (50% + 1)
Current abortion law in the state: Legal until “fetal viability”
South Dakota
What the amendment will do: Per The Hill, it would legalize abortion in the state and prevent restrictions before the end of the first trimester. Furthermore:
After the end of the first trimester and until the end of the second trimester, the State may regulate the pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its effectuation only in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.
Signatures required for it to go on the ballot: 35,017
Deadline to get it on the ballot: May 7, 2024
Vote threshold required to pass (if on ballot): simple majority (50% + 1)
Current abortion law in the state: Illegal in most cases
LifeNews Note: Anthony Iafrate writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
