Voters backed abortion rights in seven of the 10 states where the issue appeared on ballots Tuesday — at first glance, seemingly reshaping the nation’s patchwork of abortion rules.
Colorado, Maryland, Montana, and New York — states where abortions are already permitted at least until fetal viability — all will add abortion protections to their state constitutions. Nevada voters also favored protections and can enshrine them by passing the measure again in the next general election.
Florida and South Dakota voters, meanwhile, did not pass abortion rights amendments, and Nebraska voters essentially affirmed the state’s existing ban on abortions after the first trimester, while rejecting a measure that would have protected abortions later into pregnancy.
The biggest changes came in Arizona, where, in 2022, abortion was banned after 15 weeks, and in Missouri, which has had a near-total ban. Voters in those states approved constitutional amendments to protect abortion rights through fetal viability, opening the door to overturning those states’ restrictions and increasing access to abortion services.
But when Alison Dreith, director of strategic partnerships at the Midwest Access Coalition abortion fund, which has helped people from Missouri and 27 other states get abortions, was asked before the results came in how her organization was preparing for logistical changes, she said simply: “We’re not.”
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