Abortion Rights Divide: 7 States Enshrine Protection, 3 Fall Short in Historic Constitutional Votes

On the 5th (local time), along with the U.S. presidential election, a vote was held in 10 states on whether to amend state constitutions regarding the right to terminate pregnancy. In states such as Florida, South Dakota, and Nebraska, which have strong abortion regulations, the state constitutional right to abortion was defeated. Voters in Missouri, New York, Maryland, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and Montana passed measures to amend their state constitutions to include language guaranteeing the right to abortion.

Florida, which received the most attention, held a vote on an amendment (4th Amendment) to guarantee a woman’s right to terminate pregnancy in the Constitution, but it was ultimately rejected. The amendment includes support for the right to terminate pregnancy within 24 weeks of pregnancy when the viability of the fetus is not certain or to protect the woman’s health. The amendment was rejected with only 57% support. The passing threshold for a constitutional amendment is 60% or higher. In South Dakota, which prohibits abortion throughout pregnancy except for a few exceptional cases, a proposal to add the right to abortion to the state constitution was rejected.

Residents of the state of Nebraska, which allows abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy only in exceptional cases, such as pregnancy resulting from rape, also rejected a bill to guarantee the right to abortion in the constitution.

On the other hand, Missouri decided to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution. Currently, Missouri prohibits abortion at all stages and allows it only in exceptional cases where the pregnant woman’s life is at risk. Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Nevada, and Montana also decided to include the right to abortion in their state constitutions. New York State passed a constitutional amendment guaranteeing individual autonomy regarding reproductive health. In the constitutional amendment, it was decided to indirectly strengthen the guarantee of rights without directly using the word ‘abortion of pregnancy’.

In the United States, the right to terminate pregnancy has long been protected as a constitutional right. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision in Roe v. Wade that a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy within 24 weeks of pregnancy should be protected by the Constitution. However, in June 2022, the Supreme Court overturned this ruling and ruled that the ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy was constitutional. Due to the ruling at the time, the right to abortion was no longer protected by the Constitution in all 50 states in the United States, and the Supreme Court took the position that each state would autonomously decide whether to legislate.

Reporter Kim Won-cheol wonchul@hani.co.kr Reporter Choi Woori ecowoori@hani.co.kr