See how states voted on the issue of abortion in the US

Voters in four US states voted to uphold abortion rights on Tuesday, according to a projection by the CNN 🇧🇷 In recent months, Democrats across the country have been acting on the issue after a Supreme Court ruling in June overturned Roe v. Wade (name given to abortion jurisprudence in the country).

Lawmakers and party organizers turned the midterm elections into a referendum against Republican efforts to limit women’s choices. The issue was pressing even in places where voters were more concerned about economic issues.

“This fall, Roe is at the polls,” President Joe Biden declared in a speech at the White House just hours after the Supreme Court’s decision. The US is in autumn right now, and Roe is one way of referring to abortion legislation.

although the CNN projected that some anti-abortion Republicans will win elections, voters in key states made their support for abortion rights clear through various measures voted on on ballots.

Kentucky rejects proposal that would restrict abortion

Kentucky voters rejected a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would say it “ensures or protects the right” to abortion or abortion funding, as projected by Kentucky. CNN 🇧🇷

The questions on the ballot were: “Are you in favor of amending the Constitution of Kentucky, creating a new Section of the Constitution, to be numbered Section 26A, to indicate the following: ‘To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be interpreted to guarantee or protect the right to abortion or demand funding for abortion’?”

Kentucky’s “triggering law,” which bans most abortions at all stages of pregnancy, and a law banning abortion after about six weeks’ gestation were temporarily authorized pending the outcome of a lawsuit.

Kentucky Right to Life executive director Addia Wuchner, who chairs the Yes for Life Alliance, supported Amendment 2 and said voting “yes” would “ensure that there is no a false interpretation of the Constitution”.

Kentucky voters rejected the amendment to the state constitution that would say it “ensures or protects the right” to abortion or abortion funding, as projected. As of Wednesday morning, nearly 1.4 million people had voted for the amendment – most against the amendment.

Without the amendment, “instead of lawmakers duly reflecting the will of the people, we would end up with the abortion industry judicializing every law,” Wuchner said.

Tamara Wieder, Kentucky director of the Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates group, said approving the amendment would “open the door to more attacks on abortion access,” but rejecting it would allow rights advocates to to abortion continued to “fight” against the ban on six weeks’ gestation and the ban on the triggering law.

If adopted, the measure would have taken effect immediately after the election results were certified by the Council of State of the elections.

Michigan enshrines abortion rights

Michigan voters voted to validate abortion rights in the state constitution, a move that will help block a long-time abortion ban from taking effect, as projected by the CNN 🇧🇷

The passage of Proposition 3 amends Michigan’s constitution to establish an “individual right to reproductive freedom, including the right to make and make all decisions about pregnancy.”

Michigan has a 1931 law that essentially bans abortion in the state, but that law is being blocked in the courts. Passing the proposed vote helps prevent the ban from taking effect.

The amendment allows the state to regulate abortion after fetal viability, except as necessary to protect the patient’s physical or mental life or health. In addition, the measure bars the state from prosecuting an individual for having or undergoing an abortion, or from prosecuting someone who assists a pregnant woman in “exercising the rights established by this amendment.”

The state voted to protect access to abortion in the state constitution, according to a projection by the CNN , preventing a 1931 law banning abortion from taking effect. As of Wednesday morning, nearly 3 million people had voted for the amendment — most supporting the amendment.

The proposal had to overcome legal challenges included on the ballot, with the Michigan Supreme Court ordering in September that the issue be included in a 5-2 decision.

“More than ever, we are energized and motivated to restore lost protections in abortion rights,” said Darci McConnell, spokesperson for the group Reproductive Freedom for All.

Michigan Republicans had attacked the court’s decision, along with another proposal regarding voting rights. “Despite the court ruling, these measures remain too extreme for Michigan and we are confident they will be overturned in the November vote,” predicted Elizabeth Giannone, the state’s deputy director of communications, in a statement earlier this year.

California voters put abortion rights in state constitution

California’s Constitution will protect the right to abortion after residents pass an initiative enshrining the right in the state’s government document, as projected by CNN 🇧🇷

Currently, the state constitution guarantees a right to privacy, which the California Supreme Court has expanded to include the right to abortion.

In May, after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, California Democratic leaders — Governor Gavin Newsom, State Senate Speaker Toni Atkins, and State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon — said they would propose an amendment “so that there is no question about abortion rights in this state.” .

The Democrat-controlled state legislature in June approved the introduction of the change in the November vote.

“Proposition 1 ensures that regardless of the future legislature or the future governor, people in California have a constitutional protection that explicitly guarantees that the state does not interfere with their right to reproductive freedom,” said Jodi Hicks, responsible for Planned Parenthood Affiliates. of California (California Family Planning Affiliates) and co-chair of the Yes on Prop 1 campaign.

The California Family Council had said the amendment was an “extreme and expensive proposal that does nothing to promote women’s health.” The Catholic Conference of California, which opposes Proposition 1, dubbed it a “deceptive ballot measure that allows unlimited late-term abortions, for any reason, at any time, even just before birth, paid for by tax dollars.”

The Yes on Prop 1 campaign previously said the proposal would not change “existing constitutional protections and state law, which provide for the right to choose an abortion before viability or to protect the life or health of the expectant mother.”

The measure takes effect on the fifth day after the certification of the vote.

Vermont voters defend abortion rights

Vermont voters have approved an amendment to the state constitution that will protect “the right of all people to make their own decisions in matters of reproduction,” including about pregnancies, abortion and birth control, according to supporters of the proposal.

The Vermont constitution will now be amended to read: “an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is fundamental to the freedom and dignity to determine one’s own course of life and will not be denied or violated unless justified by a state interest. convincingly achieved by the least restrictive means.

Abortion is currently legal at all stages of pregnancy in Vermont. The proposed amendment was first introduced by the Vermont legislature in 2019.

The Vermont for Reproductive Liberty Ballot committee, which supported Article 22, had previously said state-level protections “are vital to safeguarding access” after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.

“It would mean that access to abortion has been codified in the state constitution and the most important part is long-term protection, proving that access will be there no matter what our politicians do,” said Sam Donnelly, campaign manager for coalition.

More voters in Vermont voted at the polls to safeguard access to abortion in the state constitution than the total number of people who participated in the 2018 midterm elections.

Both supporters and opponents of Article 22 said its adoption means that Vermont legislators will not be able to pass any limitations or regulations on abortion in the future, because it would then be deemed unconstitutional.

Mary Beerworth, executive director of the Vermont Right to Life Committee, which opposes the amendment, said the proposal goes “far, much further” than codifying abortion rights in the state constitution. .

“These are a wide range of things that pertain to personal reproductive autonomy, from surrogacy, three-parent embryos, genetically engineered babies and minors who may have access to hormone blockers for transgender surgery without the knowledge or consent of the parents. your parents,” he listed. “This will open up a whole new world here if it passes.”

still no decision

Montana voters considered an election referendum that would impose criminal sanctions on health care providers who fail to act to preserve the lives of children born during an abortion process.