The 2024 elections yielded mixed results for the pro-life movement, as voters in several states approved pro-abortion ballot measures, while similar referendums failed in other states.

Along with the presidential election and other federal, state and local elections, voters across the country went to the polls Tuesday to decide on a series of ballot measures. In nine states, referendums asked voters whether they supported amending their state constitution to establish the right to abortion.

Since the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jacksonwhich held that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee the right to abortion, several states have adopted pro-life protections, limiting abortion to the first weeks of pregnancy or instituting near-total bans. In response, some states held referendums in both countries. 2022 and 2023, asking voters if they want to establish a right to abortion in their state constitution.

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The referendums passed in all four states, ranging from the deep blue states of California and Vermont to the swing state of Michigan and the red state of Ohio.

This year, voters in nine states voted on similar measures: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota. Voters in a tenth state, New York, decided the fate of an equal rights amendment that would amend the state constitution to add “gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy , pregnancy outcomes, reproductive health care (abortion), and autonomy” to a list of features adopted under state law.

In Florida, unlike other states with such a measure on the ballot, Amendment 4 needed the support of 60 percent of voters. He did not reach this threshold by obtaining the support of 57% of voters, marking the first time since Dobbs ruling that a referendum to establish a constitutional right to abortion failed. With the failure of Amendment 4, Florida’s six-week abortion ban will remain in effect.

Nebraska was the only state where dueling abortion-related ballot measures were presented to voters. While one question asked voters if they wanted to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution, the other asked if they wanted to ban abortions after the first trimester. Since the measures were mutually exclusive, the one that received the most support from Nebraska voters would go into effect.

After almost all votes were counted, a majority of Nebraska voters (51%) rejected Initiative 439, which would have established the right to abortion. In contrast, 55 percent of Nebraska voters supported Initiative 434, which would ban abortions after the first trimester.

Nebraska became the first state where a majority of voters rejected a pro-abortion constitutional amendment after the Dobbs decision and the first state where a majority of voters approved pro-life protections in the past two years. Following Tuesday’s election results, Nebraska’s current law banning abortion at 12 weeks’ gestation is expected to remain in effect.

South Dakota Amendment Gwhich would have enshrined the right to abortion in the state constitution, failed by a margin of nearly 2 to 1. With just over 90% of the votes counted, nearly 66% of South Dakota voters rejected the measure. This means that South Dakota’s near-total ban on abortion should remain in effect.

Pro-life advocacy groups hailed their movement’s victories in all three states.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser responded to the tri-state referendum results in statement Wednesday. “We celebrate the lives that will be saved by the failure of pro-abortion ballot measures in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota,” she said.

“The pro-life states of Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota have upended the record of abortion activists, showing that the way forward is to fight for life by following the examples of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Pete Ricketts and Rep. Dusty Johnson. » Dannenfelser added.

“When Republican Party leaders step up, extreme abortion ballot measures fail because they are exposed for what they are and the fear-mongering lies are debunked. Republicans must be as dedicated as DeSantis to explaining how these measures allow abortion up to birth and strip away parental rights.

Dannenfelser added: “Faced with more than $110 million from the abortion lobby and an army of mainstream media journalists fighting for Amendment 4, DeSantis has not backed down. He traveled the state to make sure voters knew the measure would allow abortion at any time and take away parental consent. Senator Pete Ricketts has raised funds, contributed and provided leadership to give Nebraskans a common-sense alternative to the ACLU abortion amendment.

Noting how “Rep. Dusty Johnson ran ads and sent mailers informing South Dakotans that Amendment G had no limits,” Dannenfelser concluded, “If the playing field is leveled by pro-life elected officials fighting back, the life wins. »

While pro-abortion ballot measures were defeated in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota, referendums had much better success in the other seven states.

Although more than 10% of votes remain pending in some of these states, unofficial election results show that the referendums received broad support of more than 60% in some of these states. Arizona, Colorado, Nevada And new Yorkwhile passing with more than 70% in Maryland.

Narrower majorities of voters in deep red states of Missouri And Montana voted in favor of amending their constitution to establish a right to abortion. While Colorado, Maryland, Montana and Nevada already had few or no pro-life protections before the passage of the pro-abortion amendments, abortion policy will change dramatically in Arizona and Missouri at following Tuesday’s vote. Arizona is expected to see its 15-week abortion ban overturned, while Missouri’s near-total abortion ban will meet a similar fate.

This year’s ballot measures, which have broad social policy implications, extend beyond the issue of abortion. Efforts to legalize recreational marijuana have failed in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota, while measures asking voters to authorize the use of state taxpayer dollars for students attending faith-based private schools failed Kentucky and Nebraska.