The 2024 election produced mixed results for the pro-life movement, as voters approved pro-abortion measures in some states while similar initiatives failed in others.
Alongside the presidential election and other federal, state, and local races, voters nationwide went to the polls on Tuesday to decide on a series of ballot measures. Nine states presented referendums asking voters whether they supported amending their state constitutions to establish a right to abortion.
After the Dobbs decision, several states in 2022 and 2023 asked voters about establishing a right to abortion in their constitutions, with measures passing in California, Vermont, Michigan, and Ohio.
This year, nine states, namely Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, and South Dakota, weighed in on similar measures. Additionally, voters in New York decided the fate of an Equal Rights Amendment aimed at adding "gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare [abortion] and autonomy" to the state constitution.
In Florida, Amendment 4 needed to garner 60% voter support but fell short at 57%, thus allowing the state’s six-week abortion ban to remain in effect.
Meanwhile, Nebraska voters(51%) rejected Initiative 439, which sought to establish a right to abortion, while 55% supported Initiative 434, which would ban abortions after the first trimester. As a result, Nebraska became notable as the first state where a majority rejected a pro-abortion constitutional amendment following the Dobbs ruling and the first state to approve pro-life protections in the past two years.
South Dakota’s Amendment G, designed to establish a right to abortion in the state constitution, failed by nearly 2-1, ensuring that the state’s near-total ban on abortion remains intact. Pro-life advocacy groups celebrated victories in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota amid the overall trend.
Although more than 10% of the votes remain outstanding in some areas, unofficial election results indicate that the referendums related to support for abortion rights secured widespread backing exceeding 60% in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and New York, while Maryland passed with over 70% support.
Missouri and Montana voted to amend their constitutions to establish a right to abortion. As a result of Tuesday’s vote, abortion policy is expected to change significantly in Arizona and Missouri, with Arizona likely to reverse its 15-week abortion ban and Missouri's near-total ban facing a similar fate.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, commented on the results in the three states, stating, “We celebrate the lives that will be saved with the defeat of pro-abortion ballot measures in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota.”
She emphasized that “the pro-life states of Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota have disrupted abortion activists’ track record, showing the path forward is to fight for life following the examples of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Pete Ricketts, and Rep. Dusty Johnson.”
She urged, “When GOP leaders engage, extreme abortion ballot measures fail because they are exposed for what they are and fear-mongering lies are refuted. Republicans must be as devoted as DeSantis to explain how these measures allow abortion until birth and take away parental rights.”
