[ Millions of people voted in elections that will shape U.S.
sexual and reproductive health and rights policy in the wake of the
U.S. Supreme Court’s devastating decision to overturn Roe v. Wade
and eliminate the constitutional right to abortion.]
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ABORTION RIGHTS MEASURES WIN APPROVAL IN FIRST MAJOR U.S. ELECTIONS
SINCE ROE V. WADE OVERTURNED  
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Center for Reproductive Rights
November 9, 2022
Center for Reproductive Rights
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_ Millions of people voted in elections that will shape U.S. sexual
and reproductive health and rights policy in the wake of the U.S.
Supreme Court’s devastating decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and
eliminate the constitutional right to abortion. _

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While results are still being tabulated and the outcome in many races
is not yet known, it’s clear that when people are given the chance
to vote directly on the issue of abortion, they overwhelmingly want
that right protected.

Voters in CALIFORNIA
[[link removed]], MICHIGAN
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and VERMONT
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ballot initiatives to protect abortion rights in their state
constitutions. In KENTUCKY
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voters rejected an anti-abortion constitutional amendment.

“This is a seismic win for abortion rights,” said NANCY NORTHUP,
PRESIDENT AND CEO FOR THE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTs
[[link removed]], on the ballot
initiative approvals in Michigan and Vermont.

“First in Kansas, and now in Michigan and Vermont, voters are
rejecting the Supreme Court’s reversal of _Roe_ and issuing a
clarion call that they want their rights constitutionally protected.
When people can vote directly on abortion in a non-partisan ballot
initiative, abortion rights win. Until there is national legislation
that protects abortion rights across the country, we will continue to
work to ensure that state constitutions protect the right to
abortion,” Northup said.

As more election returns come in, CENTER POLICY, ADVOCACY, AND
LITIGATION EXPERTS [[link removed]] are
carefully monitoring the results to decode what the outcome means for
the free exercise of reproductive rights in the U.S. For 30 years, the
Center and its partners have been leading the effort to advance
reproductive rights as fundamental human rights in U.S. law and
policy.

STATUS
BALLOT INITIATIVES TO PROTECT

APPROVED
MICHIGAN (PROPOSAL 3)
[[link removed]]: Initiative
to amend the state constitution to protect reproductive freedom and
prohibit government infringement on the ability of people to make
decisions about their reproductive health care.

APPROVED
VERMONT (PROPOSAL 5)
[[link removed]]: Initiative
to amend the state constitution to protect reproductive freedom and
prohibit government infringement on the ability of people to make
decisions about their reproductive health care.

APPROVED  
CALIFORNIA (PROPOSAL 1)
[[link removed]]: Initiative
to amend the state constitution to further protect reproductive
freedom and prohibit government infringement on the ability of people
to make decisions about their reproductive health care.

 
 

STATUS
BALLOT INITIATIVES TO RESTRICT 

REJECTED
KENTUCKY (AMENDMENT 2)
[[link removed]]: Initiative
to amend the state constitution to restrict abortion by adding
language stating that nothing in the constitution protects abortion
rights or requires funding for abortion.

REJECTED
MONTANA’S MEASURE (LR-131)
[[link removed]]: Initiative
that would criminalize decision-making around compassionate care for
newborns with fatal conditions and allow the state to interfere with
the doctor-patient relationship.

FEDERAL AND STATE ELECTIONS

All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and five non-voting
delegates representing Washington, D.C. and the U.S. territories were
up for election in this cycle of voting. In addition, 35 U.S. Senate
seats were also on the ballot. There were 36 gubernatorial races and
seats in 88 state legislative chambers were on the ballot.

After Roe: U.S. Abortion Rights and Access

The incoming group of state and federal lawmakers will face an
unprecedented policy challenge and public health crisis set off by the
U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to remove federal protections and
allow states to ban abortion.

In the four months since the decision, 12 STATES HAVE MADE ABORTION
ILLEGAL [[link removed]],
a move that fully half the states in the U.S. could take in coming
months. Such abortion bans are leading to forced pregnancies and
causing harmful financial burdens for people who travel across state
lines to access care.

The Court’s decision also pushed the U.S. outside the GLOBAL TREND
[[link removed]] towards
liberalization of abortion laws. With the ruling, the U.S. is one of
only four countries that have removed legal protections for abortion
in the last two decades.

Restoring U.S. Abortion Rights: Where Do We Go from Here?

More than 70 million people are now living in U.S. states where
abortion—a service that one in four women will access in their
lifetime—is illegal. Research shows that being denied abortion care
has serious and long-term impacts on women’s financial
security—and that reproductive rights are directly related to
economic security.

On the federal level, the WOMEN’S HEALTH PROTECTION ACT (WHPA)
[[link removed]],
a bill in Congress, is needed urgently to protect abortion rights and
access across the U.S. WHPA would protect abortion nationwide by
creating a statutory right for health care providers to provide, and a
corresponding right for patients to receive, abortion care.

The EACH ACT [[link removed]], another
bill in Congress, would repeal the Hyde Amendment and other abortion
coverage restrictions, ensuring that anyone receiving care or
insurance coverage from the federal government would have abortion
coverage.

In the states, state laws and STATE CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS
[[link removed]] are
more important than ever. State constitutions can offer expanded legal
grounds for protecting abortion rights in highly restrictive parts of
the country. State ballot initiatives, like those on the ballot this
week, can enshrine reproductive rights, including abortion rights,
into state constitutions.

The Center and our partners will employ every legal lever to restore
abortion rights in the U.S.

CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS [[link removed]]

Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA)
Federal Legislation to Protect the Right to Access Abortion Care
[[link removed]]

* abortion
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* abortion rights
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* Women
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* women's rights
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* Dobbs v. Jackson
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* Anti-abortion law
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* state abortion laws
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* ballot initiatives
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* Michigan
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* Kentucky
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* Montana
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* 2022 Elections
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* Supreme Court
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* Reproductive rights
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* WHPA
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