A record 10 states had abortion-related ballot measures in the 2024 election. While Florida was the first to record a disappointing result, failing to receive a supermajority of votes to pass the Right to Abortion Initiative, seven states passed abortion rights amendments, including Missouri, where abortion had been completely banned following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
How states voted on abortion rights amendments
Arizona has voted yes to Prop. 139, or the Right to Abortion Initiative. The ballot measure protects the right to an abortion up to fetal viability, or around 24 weeks, and if the life of the pregnant person is in danger.
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Colorado has voted to pass Amendment 79, or the Right to Abortion and Health Insurance Coverage Initiative. Abortion is legal in the state, and the ballot measure recognizes the right to an abortion in the constitution and allows public funding to be used for abortion coverage. The measure needed 55% of the vote to pass, and it received 61.5%.
Florida has failed to receive a supermajority of votes to pass Amendment 4, or the Right to Abortion Initiative. The ballot measure would have protected abortion rights until viability, or about 24 weeks, and if the pregnant person’s life was threatened after viability. While the amendment received the majority of the vote at 57%, it needed 60% of the vote to pass into law.
Maryland has voted to pass Question 1, or the Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment. The ballot measure guarantees a right to reproductive freedom and protects the "ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end" a pregnancy.
Missouri has voted to pass Amendment 3, or the Right To Reproductive Freedom Amendment. Missouri had a total abortion ban in the state following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the ballot measure now removes that ban and protects the right to an abortion up to fetal viability, or around 24 weeks, with exceptions afterward as well.
Montana has voted yes to Constitutional Initiative 128, or the Right to Abortion Initiative. The ballot measure protects the right to an abortion up until fetal viability and if the life of the pregnant person is in danger.
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Nebraska has voted against Initiative 439, or the Right To Abortion Initiative. The ballot measure protects the right to an abortion up until fetal viability or if the life of the pregnant person is in danger. Initiative 434, which amends the state constitution to ban abortion in the second and third trimester (outside of rape, incest, or medical emergencies), was passed.
Nevada has voted in favor of Question 6, or the Right to Abortion Initiative. The ballot measure protects the right to an abortion up until fetal viability and if the life of the pregnant person is in danger. Voters will need to approve this in two successive general elections, so it will be on the ballot again in 2026.
New Yorkers have voted to pass Prop. 1 to enshrine abortion access into the state constitution. Abortion is legal in the state, but the initiative, known as the Equal Rights Amendment, adds language barring discrimination of people based on “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”
South Dakota voted against Constitutional Amendment G, or the Right to Abortion Initiative. The state currently has a total abortion ban (except to save the life of the pregnant person), and the ballot measure would have enshrined the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution up until the second trimester, or around 13 weeks, and if the life of the pregnant person is in danger.
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