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Nebraska Right to Abortion Initiative | ||
Nebraska Right to Abortion Initiative is a proposed constitutional amendment that will appear on the November 5, 2024 ballot in Nebraska. If passed, it would amend the Nebraska Constitution to establish a right to abortion until fetal viability. [1]
In May 2023, Nebraska enacted a law banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for cases of rape, incest, and to save the life of the pregnant person. [2] This law replaced the previous 20-week abortion ban. [3]
A November 2022 Hart Research poll found that 59% of Nebraskans opposed further abortion restrictions, with 48% strongly opposed, while only 36% supported additional bans, revealing increased support for abortion rights across both rural and urban areas and all congressional districts compared to earlier polling. [4]
In response to this new restriction, citizens began a petition drive to place a constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot that would protect abortion rights in Nebraska.
See also: Abortion in Nebraska
The proposed amendment would add the following text to Article I of the Nebraska Constitution:
"All persons shall have a fundamental right to abortion until fetal viability, or when needed to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient, without interference from the state or its political subdivisions. Fetal viability means 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' sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures."
In the United States, abortion is a divisive issue in politics and culture wars, though a majority of Americans support access to abortion. Abortion laws vary widely from state to state.
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 Colorado is legal at all stages of pregnancy. It is one of seven states without any term restrictions as to when a pregnancy can be terminated.
Abortion in Michigan is legal throughout pregnancy. A state constitutional amendment to explicitly guarantee abortion rights was placed on the ballot in 2022 as Michigan Proposal 22–3; it passed with 57 percent of the vote, adding the right to abortion and contraceptive use to the Michigan Constitution. The amendment largely prevents the regulation of abortion before fetal viability, unless said regulations are to protect the individual seeking an abortion, and it also makes it unconstitutional to make laws restricting abortions which would protect the life and health, physical and/or mental, of the pregnant individual seeking abortion.
Abortion in Nebraska is illegal after the 12th week of pregnancy, after new legislation was signed in May 2023.
Abortion in Ohio is legal up to the point of fetal viability as a result of abortion rights being placed into the Ohio State Constitution by November 2023 Ohio Issue 1.
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, whether initiated by legislators or citizens, which have been certified to appear on various states' ballots during the 2024 United States elections as of 6 September 2024.
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 is a voter referendum that will appear on the ballot on November 5, 2024. If passed, it would establish in the Constitution of Maryland a right to reproductive healthcare.
Florida Amendment 4 is a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution that will be subject to a referendum on November 5, 2024. The amendment would preempt the Florida Legislature from restricting abortion before fetal viability and nullify existing statutes such as the Heartbeat Protection Act that currently do so. A 60% supermajority vote is required for the amendment to be approved.
The New York Equal Protection of Law Amendment is a proposed amendment to the New York Constitution that will be subject to a referendum on November 5, 2024.
South Dakota Amendment G is a proposed constitutional amendment that will appear on the ballot on November 5, 2024. If passed, the amendment would establish a right to abortion in the Constitution of South Dakota up until approximately the second trimester of pregnancy.
Colorado Initiative Measure 89 is a proposed constitutional amendment that will appear on the ballot on November 5, 2024. If passed, the amendment would establish a right to abortion in the Constitution of Colorado and repeal Amendment 3, a 1984 constitutional ban on public funding for abortions. A 55% supermajority vote is required for the amendment to be approved.
Arizona Proposition 139 is a proposed constitutional amendment that will appear on the ballot on November 5, 2024. If passed, the amendment would establish a right to abortion in the Constitution of Arizona up until fetal viability. A simple majority is needed for this proposition to pass.
2024 Missouri Constitutional Amendment 3, also known as the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, is a proposed constitutional amendment that will appear on the ballot on November 5, 2024. If passed, the initiative would amend the Constitution of Missouri to legalize abortion in Missouri before fetal viability.
As of September 11, 2024, 10 states have certified a referendum on abortion for the 2024 United States elections. This is the most for a single election cycle on record. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, every single pro-abortion rights ballot measure has passed, even in very conservative states such as Kansas.
Initiative 128 is a ballot initiative that will appear on the ballot on November 5, 2024. If passed, it would establish in the Constitution of Montana a right to abortion up to fetal viability.