IPM: Abortion rights constitutional amendments continue to advance in states across the country

TO: Interested Parties 

FROM: Planned Parenthood Action Fund

RE: Abortion rights constitutional amendments continue to advance in states across the country

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In November, abortion is once again on the ballot in several states. As we have seen, ballot initiatives are a way for voters to weigh in directly on abortion access and reproductive freedom.

Here’s an overview of abortion rights ballot initiatives right now and what we expect in each state. Please note: The news is fluid. Although we work to keep this memo up to date, the information below is subject to change.

States where abortion is officially on the ballot

• Florida: Abortion is currently banned after 15 weeks in Florida. On April 1, the Florida Supreme Court ruled to allow a 6-week abortion ban to take effect in early May. At the same time, the court ruled that Amendment 4, a proposal to limit government interference in abortion, can head to voters this November. The "Yes on 4" campaign, supported by Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF), requires approval from sixty percent of voters to pass. Earlier this year, FPF submitted nearly 1 million petitions from Florida voters — exceeding the 891,523 signatures required to qualify for the ballot.
   
• Maryland: Abortion is currently legal in Maryland. The Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment, approved by the Maryland General Assembly, will come before voters in November and would establish a right to make decisions related to one’s own pregnancy — including preventing a pregnancy, having an abortion, or continuing a pregnancy. The campaign to approve the measure, Freedom in Reproduction, launched in January.
   
• New York: Abortion is currently legal in New York. The New York Equal Rights Amendment (NY ERA) was approved by the state legislature last year for ratification by voters on the 2024 November ballot. The NY ERA expands the New York Constitution’s equal protection provisions to expressly include pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, reproductive health care and autonomy, as well as sexual orientation and gender identity. The coalition to pass the NY ERA, New Yorkers for Equal Rights, launched in summer 2023.
   

States where abortion rights ballot initiatives are in the qualification phase

• Arkansas: Abortion is currently banned in Arkansas. An Arkansas coalition is pursuing a ballot initiative that would establish a limited right to abortion prior to 18 weeks of pregnancy.
   
• Arizona: Abortion is currently banned after 15 weeks in Arizona. On April 9, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a total ban can be enforced; the ban, which has only a narrow life exception, is expected to be effective in May. Arizona for Abortion Access (AAA) is pursuing a measure that would establish a right to abortion until fetal viability. On April 2, AAA announced that the campaign has gathered more than 500,000 signatures ahead of a July deadline submission deadline, exceeding the 383,923 signatures required to qualify for the ballot, and noted that it will continue collecting signatures to ensure valid results.
   
• Colorado: Abortion is currently legal in Colorado. Colorado’s proposed abortion ballot initiative, sponsored by Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom, would enshrine the right to abortion and lift an abortion coverage prohibition embedded in the state constitution. The campaign must gather around 124,000 signatures by April 18 to appear on the ballot. The measure needs 55% to pass.
   
• Missouri: Abortion is currently banned in Missouri. The Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, sponsored by Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, launched in January. The measure would establish protections for all reproductive health care and restore abortion access until fetal viability. The campaign has until May 5 to collect around 171,592 signatures. At the same time, lawmakers have tried to use legislation to place a ballot measure on the Missouri ballot that would raise the threshold for passing future ballot measures.
   
• Montana: Abortion is currently legal in Montana. On April 6, the Montana Secretary of State cleared Constitutional Initiative 128, a proposed amendment that would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution, to move forward to the signature gathering phase. The coalition advancing the initiative, Montanans Securing Reproductive Freedom (MSRR), has announced that it will start gathering signatures in the coming weeks. MSRR will need to collect more than 60,000 valid signatures in 40 of the state’s House districts by June 21.
   
• Nebraska: Abortion is currently banned after 12 weeks in Nebraska. The coalition to establish a constitutional right to abortion, Protect Our Rights, continues to gather signatures. The campaign must gather more than 120,000 signatures to qualify, and those signatures must come from at least 5% of registered voters in at least 38 of the state’s 93 counties.
   
• Nevada: Abortion is currently legal in Nevada. Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom (NRF) is pursuing an amendment that would guarantee the right to abortion. NRF announced this week that they have collected more than 110,000 signatures over the past six weeks. The constitutional amendment would need to be approved by voters a second time in 2026.
   
• South Dakota: Abortion is currently banned in South Dakota. A coalition filed a constitutional amendment that would prevent some regulation of abortion during the first trimester, while allowing for restrictions after the first trimester.

Abortion opponents may still put forward their own measures this election cycle. Lawmakers in Iowa and Pennsylvania could approve ballot initiatives to explicitly exclude abortion from their states’ constitutions. Both measures have previously been approved by lawmakers and must pass the legislature a second time in 2024 to appear on the November ballot. And in Nebraska, a ballot initiative that would ban abortion after the first trimester has been filed and is gathering signatures.

For more information on abortion rights constitutional amendments please reach out to [email protected].

 

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Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational, advocacy, and limited electoral activity, including grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, and voter education.