In Florida, the attempt to protect the right to abortion has been defeated

Photo: Rebecca Blackwell Associated Press A roadside sign encourages Floridians to vote no on Amendment 4, which would protect abortion rights in the state, on Nov. 5, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Stephanie Marin

Published at 0:00 Updated at 01:30

• United States

As they selected their next president, voters in several states had another crucial choice to make on the ballot: whether to expand or restrict abortion rights. The results of these referenda began to trickle in late tonight: Florida voters refused to enshrine the right in their state constitution, but Maryland, Colorado, Missouri, and New York voted for measures to protect access to abortion.

This is not a first: in the United States, presidential election ballots can also contain referendum questions, aimed at modifying laws or the Constitution of the States. On Tuesday, ballots invited citizens in 10 states to vote on no fewer than 11 measures regarding abortion rights.

“This is a record for a single year,” Véronique Pronovost, a doctoral student in sociology and researcher in residence at the Raoul-Dandurand Chair, told Le Devoir in an interview.

American women's access to abortion procedures has been significantly restricted since 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which had offered constitutional protection to the right to abortion since 1973.

Following this ruling, the power to legislate and impose restrictions on abortion was fully returned to the states. Many seized the opportunity, multiplying restrictive laws and piling up obstacles for American women seeking to terminate their pregnancies. In response to these limitations, citizens hoping to reverse the trend added referendum questions to the ballots.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

For example, on the ballots for the 2024 presidential election, there were 10 measures seeking to expand abortion rights and one aimed at restricting them even further. Other states that included such questions on their ballots were Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota and Nebraska — the latter of which offered both a measure in favor of abortion rights and a measure to ban it after the first trimester.

The Results

The results of these referendum questions were gradually revealed Tuesday evening, and Florida was the first to announce its voters' choice.

“Amendment number 4” sought to limit the scope of action of the Florida government so that it could not prohibit the termination of pregnancy before the viability of the fetus or when it is necessary for the health of the patient. In this very red state in the American Southeast, the measure protecting the right to abortion failed: to become a reality, it had to obtain 60% of the votes cast. It is therefore a victory for the very conservative governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, who had fiercely opposed the presence of the question on the ballot. The ban on most abortions after the first six weeks of pregnancy, a measure he himself signed, will therefore be maintained.

In Colorado, the proposed amendment sought to amend the state constitution to recognize abortion rights and prohibit local governments and state officials from interfering with it. The measure needed 55 percent of voters to approve it, and it passed that threshold that evening.

In Maryland and New York, the legislative changes on the ballot broadly sought to amend the constitution to strengthen abortion rights. They passed a simple majority of voters, the threshold required in both states.

The result of this referendum vote in Colorado, Maryland and New York State did not really come as a surprise: these three states voted blue and were already permissive towards abortion. But in Missouri, a state that voted Republican and is at the same time in favor of abortion, its citizens chose to eliminate the almost total ban on elective terminations of pregnancy.

According to Véronique Pronovost, the stakes will also be particularly high in South Dakota, where abortion is completely illegal. A gain remains possible, but “unlikely,” she believes.

The other results of the referendum questions should be revealed soon.

Since the invalidation of Roe v. Wade, the picture of access to abortion has changed in the country: 13 states have banned it completely, with very narrow exceptions—some don’t even allow it in cases of incest or rape. The exception that allows for termination of pregnancy when the mother’s life is in danger is so narrow that women have suffered serious complications and, in some cases, even died.

Seven other states have significantly reduced the window of time during which abortion is permitted since June 2022 (it is often banned after 6 or 12 weeks of pregnancy). Such limits, in effect in 21 states, would have been illegal when Roe v. Wade was in effect.