Since the Supreme Court two years ago overturned the national right to abortion and returned its regulation to state legislatures, activists have pushed to get abortion measures on ballots in states across the country.
Voters in seven states – California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont – already have considered ballot measures on abortion rights since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the high court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling. Amendments supported by pro-abortion rights interests succeeded in Vermont, Michigan, California and Ohio, while those backed by anti-abortion groups were defeated in Kansas, Kentucky and Montana.
Advocates in multiple states have been working toward getting abortion measures on the November ballot, with most seeking to enshrine abortion rights. Initiatives and referendums generally can reach the ballot in one of two ways: They can be legislatively referred or citizen-referred. Citizen-initiated measures must reach a signature threshold, set by state election officials, in order to get on the ballot.
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Here are the states where an abortion measure has been approved for the November 2024 ballot.
Steve Ruark|AP
Protesters participate in a pro-choice rally on May 14, 2022, in Baltimore.
Abortions are legal in Maryland until viability – a term used by health professionals to describe whether a fetus can survive independently. However, the state Legislature decided to cross-introduce measures in both the House and Senate that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. If passed, the amendment would confirm an individual right to reproductive freedom and bar the state from curtailing that right “unless justified by a compelling State interest achieved by........