Midterms Were Also A Good Night For Abortion Rights 

While much attention has focused on the dramatic outcome of the House and Senate elections, it was also a notable night for state-level ballot initiatives. Ever since the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, abortion rights have been a frequent issue at the ballot box. I’m pleased to report that voters in several states passed measures protecting abortion rights.

The Guardian reports that Nevada voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure that enshrines abortion rights in the state constitution. The amendment permanently protects a woman’s ability to obtain an abortion through the second trimester. With 86% of votes counted, the measure is winning by a 62.3% to 37.7% margin 

A similar measure passed in Virginia, where voters also enshrined the “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” in the state constitution. The amendment also makes access to contraception and fertility care a constitutional right. 

The outcome that genuinely has me pumping my fist in the air is in Missouri. I don’t even live there, but the number of times I’ve had to write about the Missouri state legislature undercutting the will of the people has given me a strong opinion on the issue. Voters already approved a measure in 2024 that enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution, making it one of the only states that reversed a state-wide abortion ban at the ballot box. 

I guess the state legislature thought that voters weren’t serious about the issue, because they placed an amendment on the ballot that would overturn the constitutional right to reproductive freedom except in the case of rape or incest. Amendment 3 would have not only repealed those protections and banned abortions, but also prohibited gender transition surgeries and certain other procedures for minors. 

That effort failed by a margin of 55% to 45%, an even bigger margin than the original amendment won by in 2024. 

It wasn’t all good news, as Idaho was one of the few states that voted against repealing a statewide abortion ban. Idaho’s abortion ban went into effect in 2022 shortly after the Dobbs decision. 

Abortion rights groups have understandably been celebratory over the majority of these outcomes.

Reproductive Freedom for All issued a statement saying: “The American people sent a clear message: Our government belongs to us, not the extremists who have spent years attacking our fundamental freedoms. By taking back the House and Senate, voters have put a powerful check on Trump and his attacks on reproductive freedom.”

The Center for Reproductive Rights also issued a celebratory statement, writing: “What. a. night. The future of our reproductive rights will be shaped by the actions elected officials take. The work ahead MUST include protecting access to abortion and advancing federal safeguards for reproductive freedom.”

For the last decade, it’s felt like we’ve been living in draconian times, with Republicans in both Congress and state legislatures doing their best to reverse decades of progress. While I’m clear-eyed and understand that the Democrats taking back control of Congress doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re going to get everything we want off the bat, these results on the state level have given me some degree of hope.

 At the very least, women in these states no longer have to worry about the government telling them what they can and can’t do with their bodies. 

SEE ALSO:

US Supreme Court Pauses Lower Court Ruling On Abortion Pill Mail Ban

Ring The Alarm! Right To TeleHealth For Abortion May Be Over [Op-Ed]