| |||||||||||||
Reproductive Liberty Amendment [1] | |||||||||||||
Results | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||
County results
|
Elections in Vermont |
---|
The 2022 Vermont reproductive rights initiative, officially titled the "Reproductive Liberty Amendment", and listed on the ballot as Proposition 5, was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that was adopted on November 8, 2022, by a landslide majority of 76.8% of voters. It codified reproductive rights in the Constitution of Vermont. It was signed into the constitution by Republican governor Phil Scott on 13 December 2022. [2]
In the 19th century, bans by state legislatures on abortion were about protecting the life of the mother, given the number of deaths caused by abortions; state governments saw themselves as looking out for the lives of their citizens. [3] Vermont's first ban on abortion was passed in 1846. [4] It read:
“Whoever maliciously, or without lawful justification, with intent to cause and procure the miscarriage of a woman, then pregnant with child, shall administer to her, prescribe for her, or advise, or direct her to take or swallow any poison, drug, medicine, or noxious thing, or shall cause or procure her, with like intent, to take or swallow any poison, drug, medicine, or noxious thing, and whoever maliciously, and without lawful justification, shall use any instrument or means whatever, with the like intent, and every person, with the like intent, knowingly aiding and assisting such offenders, shall be deemed guilty of felony, if the woman die in consequence thereof, and shall be imprisoned in the state prison, not more than ten years, nor less than five years; and if the woman does not die in consequence thereof, such offenders shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison not exceeding three years, nor less than one year, and pay a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars.”
In 1970, the Vermont Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the state's abortion ban in the context of the Constitution of the United States in State v. Bartlett. [5] However, the court overturned the ban less than two years later, in Beacham v. Leahy, based on the Vermont Constitution. [6]
Personal reproductive liberty
That an individual's right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one's own life course, and shall not be denied or infringed, unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.
Arizona Proposition 107 was a proposed same-sex marriage ban, put before voters by ballot initiative in the 2006 general election. If passed, it would have prohibited the U.S. state of Arizona from recognizing same-sex marriages or civil unions. The state already had a statute defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman and prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.
The legality of abortion in the United States and the various restrictions imposed on the procedure vary significantly, depending on the laws of each state or other jurisdiction, although there is no uniform federal law. Some states prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with few exceptions; others permit it up to a certain point in a woman's pregnancy, while some allow abortion throughout a woman's pregnancy. In states where abortion is legal, several classes of restrictions on the procedure may exist, such as parental consent or notification laws, requirements that patients be shown an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion, mandatory waiting periods, and counseling requirements.
Abortion in Vermont is legal at all stages of pregnancy. A 2014 Pew Research Center poll showed 70% of adults in the state believed abortion should be legal in most or all cases, the second highest percentage in the country. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 76% of Vermonters said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. The state funds abortions deemed medically necessary for low-income women via Medicaid.
The 2022 Kansas abortion referendum was a rejected legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the Kansas Constitution that appeared on the ballot on August 2, 2022, alongside primary elections for statewide offices, with early voting from July 13. If enacted, the amendment would have declared that the Kansas Constitution does not guarantee a right to abortion, giving the Kansas state government power to prosecute individuals involved in abortions, and further declared that the Kansas government is not required to fund abortions.
Proposition 1, titled Constitutional Right to Reproductive Freedom and initially known as Senate Constitutional Amendment 10 (SCA 10), was a California ballot proposition and state constitutional amendment that was voted on in the 2022 general election on November 8. Passing with more than two-thirds of the vote, the proposition amended the Constitution of California to explicitly grant the right to an abortion and contraceptives, making California among the first states in the nation to codify the right. The decision to propose the codification of abortion rights in the state constitution was precipitated in May 2022 by Politico's publishing of a leaked draft opinion showing the United States Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The decision reversed judicial precedent that previously held that the United States Constitution protected the right to an abortion.
2022 Michigan Proposal 3, the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, also known as Reproductive Freedom for All, was a citizen-initiated proposed constitutional amendment in the state of Michigan, which was voted on as part of the 2022 Michigan elections. The amendment, which passed, codified reproductive rights, including access to abortion, in the Constitution of Michigan.
The following is a list of ballot measures which were on the ballot for the 2022 United States elections. Some were held prior to the federal elections on November 8. Many were initiated by state legislatures, while others were initiated by public petitions. In all, there were 141 ballot measures on ballots across most U.S. states and the District of Columbia at any point throughout the year.
Kentucky Amendment 2 was a rejected legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the Kentucky Constitution, which was voted on as part of the 2022 elections. If enacted, the amendment would have declared that nothing in the Kentucky Constitution could be construed to protect a right to an abortion or public funding of an abortion.
The 2023 Ohio reproductive rights initiative, officially titled "The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety" and listed on the ballot as Issue 1, was a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment adopted on November 7, 2023, by a majority (56.8%) of voters. It codified reproductive rights in the Ohio Constitution, including contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriage care, and abortion up to the point of fetal viability, restoring Roe v. Wade-era access to abortion in Ohio.
The 2024 Maryland Question 1 was a voter referendum that appeared on the ballot on November 5, 2024. It established in the Constitution of Maryland a right to reproductive freedom. The referendum was approved overwhelmingly, with more than three times as many voters voting in favor of it than against it, and only losing in Garrett County.
Florida Amendment 4 was a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution, which failed on November 5, 2024. Through a statewide referendum, the amendment achieved 57% support among voters in the U.S. state of Florida, short of the 60% supermajority required by law. Despite its failure to pass, the double digit percentage majority that it received is considered by some to be indicative of a nationwide consensus on abortion, similar to similar referendums in other moderately conservative swing states such as Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, and Arizona, the last of which had an abortion rights amendment pass with a 3/5 majority, although unlike Florida it did not actually need one.
New York Proposal 1, called the Amendment to Protect Against Unequal Treatment on the ballot, was a proposed legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the New York Constitution, which was approved by voters on November 5, 2024 and will take effect on January 1, 2025. Also informally known as the Equal Rights Amendment, it includes several rights in the New York State Constitution's Equal Protection Clause with its chief purpose to preserve the right to abortion. It also adds a prohibition of discrimination on attributes such ethnicity, gender identity, disability, or reproductive autonomy. The amendment was approved in consecutive legislating sessions in 2022 and 2023 and was approved by voters in a referendum on November 5, 2024. While the text of the amendment was determined by the legislature, the wording of the ballot proposal about the amendment went through several changes and legal challenges before the Board of Elections' draft was replaced by an Albany County Judge.
South Dakota Amendment G was a proposed constitutional amendment that appeared on the ballot on November 5, 2024. If passed, the amendment would have established a right to abortion in the Constitution of South Dakota up until approximately the beginning of the third trimester of pregnancy. The amendment failed to pass.
2024 Colorado Amendment 79 is a proposed constitutional amendment that appeared on the ballot on November 5, 2024. The amendment establish a right to abortion at any stage of pregnancy in the Constitution of Colorado and repealed Amendment 3, a 1984 constitutional ban on public funding for abortions. The amendment passed, surpassing the 55% supermajority vote required for the amendment to be approved.
Arizona Proposition 139 is a constitutional amendment that was approved by voters on November 5, 2024, establishing a right to abortion in the Constitution of Arizona up until fetal viability.
2024 Missouri Constitutional Amendment 3, also known as the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, is a proposed constitutional amendment that appeared on the ballot on November 5, 2024. The initiative amended the Constitution of Missouri to legalize abortion in Missouri until fetal viability. The amendment narrowly passed.
Nebraska Initiative 439, officially titled "Nebraska Right to Abortion Initiative", was a proposed constitutional amendment that appeared on the November 5, 2024 ballot in Nebraska. If passed, it would have amended the Nebraska Constitution to establish a right to abortion until fetal viability. It and Initiative 434 were mutually exclusive; the one with more votes in favor would become law in the event both amendments passed. It failed with just under 49% support; this was less than the 54% approval of Initiative 434.
Initiative 128 was a ballot initiative that appeared on the ballot on November 5, 2024, to establish in the Constitution of Montana a right to abortion up to fetal viability. The initiative was approved by 57 percent of voters.
Nebraska Initiative 434, officially titled "Nebraska Protect Women & Children Initiative" or "Prohibit Abortions After the First Trimester Amendment", and listed on the ballot as Initiative Measure 434, was a proposed constitutional amendment that appeared on the November 5, 2024 ballot in Nebraska. It amends the Nebraska Constitution to ban elective abortions in the second and third trimester, though it allows more restrictive laws such as the 12-week ban passed by the Legislature in 2023, which like the constitutional amendment includes exceptions for rape, incest and medical emergencies. Initiative 434 and Initiative 439 were mutually exclusive; only the one with more votes in favor would become law in the event both amendments passed.
2024 Nevada Question 6 is a proposed constitutional amendment for the state of Nevada in the United States, that would protect the right to an abortion until fetal viability, which is generally considered about 23 or 24 weeks, or when necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient. The Question initially appeared on the November 5th, 2024, ballot in Nevada. The ballot measure was approved with 64.03% of the votes. As Question 6 was approved in 2024, a second vote will be held on November 3, 2026.