Which states have abortion on the ballot for the 2024 election? See the proposed measures

With Election Day rapidly approaching, citizens of states across the U.S. are casting votes not only in a tight presidential race, but also on contentious issues, like marijuana and abortion.

This year, 10 states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York and South Dakota have abortion measures on their ballots, with Nebraska taking on the unusual distinction of having two dueling propositions for voters to decide between.

Other states, who already have a range of laws concerning abortion, have constitutional amendments up for votes that would enact a variety of abortion and reproductive-care-related protections.

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which federally guaranteed the right to an abortion, in June 2022, states have enacted a range of laws. At least 14 have implemented near-total abortion bans, while others have enshrined the right to abortion access in state law or passed shield laws protecting patients from other states who travel to get the procedure.

Now, states on both sides of the coin have measures on the ballot to strengthen protections, implement tighter restrictions, or overturn current legislation.

Here's what to know about proposed abortion legislation in the 2024 election and what each state is voting on.

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Arizona: Proposition 139

The Arizona Abortion Access Act, appearing on ballots as Proposition 139, would amend the Arizona Constitution to add a fundamental right to abortion.

Currently, most abortions are banned in the state after 15 weeks. The law has some exceptions for life-threatening conditions or "serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function," but does not include exceptions for rape or incest.

As reported by the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, the act would:

• Prevent any state government entity from restricting abortion before the fetus is viable outside the uterus as determined by a treating healthcare professional (this usually occurs around 24 weeks).

• Allow abortions after viability when necessary to protect the life, physical or mental health of the pregnant person.

• Prohibit laws that penalize individuals for aiding or assisting a person exercising the right to an abortion.

Colorado: Amendment 79

Colorado's Right to Abortion and Health Insurance Coverage Initiative will be on ballots as Amendment 79. It seeks to amend the state's constitution to enshrine the right to abortion. It would also allow the use of public funds for abortion, overturning a 1984 amendment to the state constitution that prohibited the use of public funds for abortion care except in some cases of saving the mother's life.

Colorado is currently one of nine states that allow abortion at any point in pregnancy. The Reproductive Health Equity Act signed into law in November 2022 also “placed many rights related to reproductive health care in Colorado statutes, including creating a statutory right to have an abortion," according to the Fort Collins Coloradoan, part of the USA TODAY Network.

If passed, Amendment 79 would:

• Prohibit state and local governments from denying, impeding, or discriminating against abortion access.

• Allow abortions to be covered under health insurance plans for Colorado state and local government employees and for enrollees in state and local governmental insurance programs.

Florida: Amendment 4

Florida's Right to Abortion Initiative will appear on ballots as Amendment 4. It would amend the Florida Constitution's Declaration of Rights to prohibit the restrictions of abortion before viability or when determined necessary by a medical professional to protect a patient's health.

Currently, Florida has a six-week abortion ban, one of the strictest in the country post-Dobbs. Its "Heartbeat Protection Act" starts that six-week clock on the first day of a person’s last menstrual period.

Limited exceptions exist for the life and health of the mother, cases of fetal abnormality, or rape and incest, but only when meeting certain requirements such as multiple doctor signatures, a gestation earlier than 15 weeks, a copy of a restraining order, police report, medical record or other documentation providing evidence that the baby is a product of rape or incest.

As reported by the Pensacola News Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, Amendment 4 would:

• Add the following language to the Florida Constitution’s Declaration of Rights: “… no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider."

• Leave in place the current constitutional provision that permits a law requiring parents to be notified before a minor can receive an abortion.

Maryland: Question 1

Maryland's Question 1, or Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment, would enshrine the right to "reproductive freedom" in the state's constitution.

Maryland's current laws allow abortion up to viability and after viability in the case of danger to the mother's life and health or fetal anomaly. The state also has a shield law in place for reproductive and gender-affirming care that protects medical providers from out-of-state investigations and prosecution.

If passed, Maryland's Question 1 would:

• Amend the Maryland Constitution's Declaration of Rights to ensure "reproductive freedom," defined to include "the ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end one's own pregnancy."

• Prohibit the constitutional right to abortion from being denied or infringed “unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”

Missouri: Amendment 3

Missouri's Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative will be on ballots as Amendment 3. It would add a fundamental right to "reproductive freedom" to the state's constitution.

Missouri currently has a total abortion ban, with a few exceptions for cases of medical emergencies. There is no exception for cases of rape or incest and those who perform or induce an abortion may face felony charges and can face a prison sentence between five and 15 years.

As reported by the Springfield News-Leader, part of the USA TODAY Network, the amendment would:

• Establish a right to make decisions about reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives, with any governmental interference of that right presumed invalid.

• Remove Missouri’s ban on abortion.

• Allow regulation of reproductive health care to improve or maintain the health of the patient.

• Require the government not to discriminate, in government programs, funding, and other activities, against persons providing or obtaining reproductive health care.

• Allow abortion to be restricted or banned after fetal viability except to protect the life or health of the woman. Fetal viability is to be determined by a treating medical professional "in good faith" and means the fetus would have a "significant likelihood" of "sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures."

Montana: CI-128

Montana's Right to Abortion Initiative, or CI-128, would amend the state constitution to guarantee the right to "make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion."

In Montana, it is currently legal to get an abortion until fetal viability. The law also allows for the use of state funds in abortion and protects against harassment and physical harm for individuals entering abortion clinics.

The initiative would:

• Provide a state constitutional "right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion."

• Allow the state to regulate abortion after fetal viability, except when "medically indicated to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient."

• Prohibit the government from penalizing, prosecuting, or taking any adverse action against a person based on their pregnancy outcomes nor against any person who aids or assists another person in obtaining an abortion.

• Prohibit the constitutional right to abortion from being denied or burdened “unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”

Nebraska: Initiative 434 and Initiative 439

Nebraska will have two dueling abortion initiatives up for a vote on November's ballot.

Initiative 434, or the Prohibit Abortions After the First Trimester Amendment, would amend the state constitution to prohibit abortions after the first trimester except in cases of medical emergency, sexual assault or incest.

Currently, abortion is allowed in Nebraska up to 12 weeks. There are exceptions past 12 weeks for the life of the mother, preventing serious risk to the physical health of the mother, and in cases of rape and incest.

If passed, Initiative 434 would:

• Amend Article I of the Nebraska Constitution to add a section saying "unborn children shall be protected from abortion in the second and third trimesters" except in cases of medical emergencies or pregnancies resulting from sexual assault or incest.

Adversely, Nebraska's Initiative 439, the Right to Abortion Initiative, would amend the state constitution to ensure the right to an abortion until fetal viability.

If passed, Initiative 439 would:

• Amend Article I of the Nebraska Constitution to add the right to abortion until fetal viability, defined as "the point in pregnancy when, in the professional judgment of the patient's treating health care practitioner, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus's sustained survival outside of the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures."

Nevada: Question 6

Nevada's Right to Abortion Initiative, on ballots as Question 6, would amend the state constitution to add the right to abortion up to viability but allow the government to regulate abortion after that point.

Abortion is currently legal in Nevada up to 24 weeks, around the time a fetus is often considered "viable."

Nevada's Question 6 would:

• Establish in the state constitution the right to abortion until fetal viability, defined as a "significant likelihood of the fetus' sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures," as determined by the treating health practitioner.

• Enshrine the right to abortion to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient.

• Prohibit the state from denying, burdening or infringing the right to abortion unless justified by "compelling state interest," defined as "an interest which is limited exclusively to the state’s interest in protecting, maintaining, or improving the health of an individual who is seeking abortion care that is consistent with accepted clinical standards of practice."

New York: Proposal 1

New York's Equal Protection of Law Amendment will appear on ballots as Proposal 1. It would amend the New York Bill of Rights to dictate that no person's rights can be denied on a variety of specified basis, including "pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy."

Currently, abortion is legal in New York up to and including 24 weeks. After 24 weeks, exceptions exist for the absence of fetal viability or to protect the patient’s life or health. Abortions performed outside of these constraints are not criminally prosecutable.

If passed, New York Proposal 1 would:

• Amend the Equal Protection Clause of the New York Constitution to prohibit discrimination or infringement of a person's civil rights by any other person, firm, corporation, institution or state entity based on "ethnicity, national origin, age, disability," as well as the person's "sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy." Currently, the clause only specifies protections based on "race, color, creed, or religion."

South Dakota: Constitutional Amendment G

South Dakota's Right to Abortion Initiative, appearing on the ballot as Constitutional Amendment G, would add the right to abortion to the state's constitution.

In South Dakota, abortion is currently banned except to save the life of the mother with no further exceptions for fetal health, rape or incest. The state does have a law in place preventing women who receive abortions from being held criminally liable.

If passed, the amendment would:

• Prohibit the state from regulating access to abortion during the first trimester.

• Allow the state to regulate abortion in the second trimester but "only in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman."

• Allow the state to regulate or prohibit abortion in the third trimester with expectations for "when abortion is necessary, in the medical judgment of the woman's physician, to preserve the life and health of the pregnant woman."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Abortion is on the ballot in 10 states this election: See proposals