(RNS) — The majority of state ballot initiatives that appeared on ballots on Election Day (Nov. 5) were approved by voters even in red states, but abortion nonetheless seems to still have a future as a hotly contested issue.
Abortion was on the ballot in 10 states this year, most of them requiring a “yes” vote to enshrine abortion rights. As of Wednesday morning, seven states — Nevada, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Missouri, Maryland and New York — are projected to have passed measures protecting or expanding those rights, according to CNN.
But in Missouri, abortion opponents say their state’s referendum, which reverses a near-total ban on the procedure, is not the last word. “Missourians have been tragically deceived by a dazzling misinformation campaign funded by out-of-state millionaires and other mega-corporations that will profit from giving abortions and gender ‘care’ to Missouri women and children,” said Mary Catherine Martin, senior counsel at the Thomas More Society, a Catholic group that launched an unsuccessful legal effort to stop the Missouri ballot initiative, in a statement.
The group pledged to continue to fight abortion in the state, saying it stands “ready to help defend the rights of Missouri’s parents, women, children, and babies.”
Florida was a significant exception to abortion-rights advocates’ good night, as voters there failed by just 3 percentage points to clear the required 60 …