During midterm elections on November 8, voters in several states approved ballot initiatives to protect women’s right to abortion, sending a message to the US government about its crackdown on reproductive freedoms. A ballot initiative in Michigan that sought to establish a constitutional right to abortion was declared successful, allowing the state to avoid being subject to the existing 1931 abortion ban.

Campaigners across the nation view the state’s decision to use a ballot initiative, known as Proposal 3, to overturn an existing abortion ban as a possible example for other states to follow. The ballot initiatives were put on the ballot months after Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion it guaranteed to all women nationwide were overturned by the Supreme Court. A dozen states have almost total bans as a result of the June decision.

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More signatures were gathered by proponents of the campaign to defend abortion rights in Michigan than any other ballot initiative in the history of the state. It effectively repeals a 1931 abortion ban that had been blocked in court but could have been reinstated. Additionally, it upholds the freedom to choose without hindrance whether to get an abortion during a pregnancy or use other contraceptives or other reproductive services.

According to Associated Press VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of more than 90,000 voters nationwide, roughly two-thirds of voters believe that abortion should be legal in most or all situations. Only about 1 in 10 people believe that all abortions should be prohibited. Comparatively fewer people say they are happy or satisfied than say they are dissatisfied or angry about the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion.

The Michigan law, according to its detractors, could have significant effects on other state laws, such as one that mandates parental notification of an abortion for a person under the age of 18. Changes to other laws, according to legal experts, would only take place if someone sued and succeeded, a process that could take years and has no guarantee of success.

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Meanwhile, Montana voters were debating newborn resuscitation requirements with potential criminal penalties, including the rare case of an attempted abortion. The ballot measure in deeply conservative Kentucky would amend the state constitution to state that there is no right to abortion. The Republican-controlled legislature has already enacted a nearly total abortion ban. The measure would not change that, but the outcome could cast a shadow on the legal battle that would resume a week after Election Day.

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Last year, lawmakers added the proposed amendment to the ballot, which some hoped would encourage more conservative voters to vote. However, in the aftermath of the Roe decision, abortion rights activists raised nearly $1.5 million to fight it. According to preliminary results, thousands of Kentucky voters who supported Republican Senator Rand Paul’s reelection opposed the abortion amendment.

In Vermont, the reproductive-rights debate arose after the legislature passed a law in 2019 guaranteeing reproductive rights, including the ability to become pregnant and have access to birth control. According to supporters of the Reproductive Liberty Ballot Committee, the Roe v. Wade decision means that “state-level protections are critical to safeguarding access to reproductive health care.”

California had already passed several abortion-related bills and set aside millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to help pay for some out-of-state abortions. On November 8, voters approved language in the state constitution that would explicitly guarantee access to abortion and contraception.