Missouri and Arizona join six states that are voting on abortion rights in the upcoming presidential election.
On Tuesday, Missouri state officials greenlit a ballot initiative, allowing residents to determine the fate of the state’s total abortion ban. On Monday, Arizona officials said they received enough petition signatures to put an abortion ballot measure before voters this November.
The ballot measures in question allow voters to decide if the right to an abortion should be enshrined in the states’ constitutions.
More than two years after Roe v. Wade was overturned, 14 states have passed total abortion bans while others have moved to protect reproductive rights at the state level. Missouri is one of several states that passed a total ban on abortion. Arizona passed a law in 2022 that bans abortion after 15 weeks.
In states that allow voter-driven ballot measures, abortion rights groups have used the tool to push back against restrictions.
Dawn Penich, a spokesperson for the organizers of Arizona’s abortion ballot measure recently told USA TODAY, “A very broad majority supports this issue, and that’s whether we were in rural communities or cities, whether we were in largely red, conservative districts or more progressive areas of the state.”
Here’s what you need to know about the status of abortion-related ballot measures:
An organizer carries a clipboard with petitions for a ballot initiative to enshrine abortion into the Arizona state constitution in Tucson, Arizona, on April 9, 2024.
Tracking the status of abortion-related ballot measures
Voter-initiated ballot measures have already been approved for the November ballot in Colorado, Florida, Nevada and South Dakota.
In Maryland and New York, legislators have put forward ballots measures that add abortion-related protections to the state constitutions.
The signatures submitted in Montana and Nebraska still need to be certified by the states before the measures appear on the November ballot.
Organizers of a ballot measure to restore broader access to abortion in Arkansas submitted more than 100,000 signatures. A week later, the Republican secretary of state rejected those signatures on a technicality. The ballot measure organizers are challenging that decision in court, USA TODAY previously reported.
Legislators in Wisconsin, Louisiana and Maine worked toward adding abortion-related measures to the ballot in November, but failed to get approval.
Within the last two years, residents in seven states have voted to further protect reproductive rights or uphold access abortion on ballot measures. They are: California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont.
Where does abortion access stand in Missouri?
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe V. Wade triggered a 2019 abortion ban in Missouri to take effect. All abortion is prohibited except for cases of medical emergencies.
Those who perform or induce an abortion may face felony charges and can be sent to prison for five to 15 years.
Reproductive rights supporters in Missouri are attempting to scale back the state’s near total abortion ban through a ballot initiative that would enshrine the right to the procedure in the state’s constitution.
Where does abortion stand in Arizona?
Arizona’s current abortion law prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Abortions can only be performed after 15 weeks in cases of medical emergencies. Minors who want an abortion must get parental consent as well as an ultrasound before the procedure, NPR reported.
The ballot measure would prohibit the state from banning or limiting access to abortion before viability, typically around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
To read more about abortion-related ballot measures, read further reporting from USA TODAY.
Contributing: Todd A. Price and Maya Marchel Hoff, USA TODAY NETWORK
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Abortion access is now on the ballot in Missouri and Arizona
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Publish date : 2024-08-13 23:10:00
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