[ Florida, South Dakota and Arizona are also battlegrounds for
whether abortion is restricted or protected as states continue to
contend with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade
last summer.]
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ABORTION BALLOT MEASURES SET THE STAGE AHEAD OF 2024  
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Caroline Vakil
July 15, 2023
The Hill
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_ Florida, South Dakota and Arizona are also battlegrounds for
whether abortion is restricted or protected as states continue to
contend with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade
last summer. _

Voters in five states backed abortion rights in the 2022 midterm
elections. , Robin Bravender/States Newsroom D.C. Bureau

 

The battle over abortion rights is set to play out with several ballot
measures across the country going into next year as the issue shows no
signs of waning among voters.

The first big fight is in Ohio, where Republicans in next month’s
special election are looking to increase the voting threshold to 60
percent to amend the state constitution. If passed, that move could
hinder Democrats’ efforts to enshrine abortion rights in the state
constitution in a potential ballot box measure in November.

Florida, South Dakota and Arizona are also battlegrounds for whether
abortion is restricted or protected as states continue to contend with
the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last summer.

“I think one thing that’s been true post-Dobbs is not only the
anger and frustration among voters and people in this country about
the politicians making decisions about our futures, but a sense of
helplessness,” said Sarah Standiford, national campaign director at
Planned Parenthood Action Fund. 

“One thing that we are and that we’ll always evangelize is that we
have the opportunity as people in this country to demand access, and
we’re going to fight everywhere,” she continued.  

In Ohio, early voting is already underway in the election on whether
to make it harder to amend the state’s constitution. The proposed
resolution would raise the voting requirement to 60 percent, up from a
simple majority.

The August election, generating bipartisan criticism, comes as
abortion rights advocates are looking to put a proposed amendment to
voters in November
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would enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution.

Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights submitted more than 700,000
signatures this month to place the measure on the Nov. 7 ballot —
exceeding the requirement of 413,446 signatures. The state’s
secretary of state has until July 25 to certify the signatures.

Abortion is currently legal until 22 weeks of pregnancy in Ohio after
a judge blocked a six-week ban, which went into effect after Roe v.
Wade was overturned.

But Ohio is not alone in putting constitutional amendments — either
to protect or restrict abortion access — before voters.

In South Dakota, the organization Dakotans For Health is collecting
signatures to get an abortion rights measure before voters in 2024.
The state enacted a “trigger law” following the fall of Roe last
year, banning the medical procedure except in cases where the life of
the mother is in danger.

The proposed constitutional amendment says
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South Dakota “may not regulate a pregnant woman’s abortion
decision and its effectuation” before the end of the first
trimester.

“After the end of the first trimester and until the end of the
second trimester, the State may regulate the pregnant woman’s
abortion decision and its effectuation only in ways that are
reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman,”
the ballot measure notes. 

“After the end of the second trimester, the State may regulate or
prohibit abortion, except when abortion is necessary, in the medical
judgment of the woman’s physician, to preserve the life or health of
the pregnant woman,” it continues.

Dakotans for Health co-founder Rick Weiland explained that while they
don’t have any Democratic statewide officeholders, “we do have the
initiative process.”

“And we’ve been very successful at using it to get things that the
people of South Dakota want that they can’t get out of their state
legislature,” he added.

In Florida, the coalition Floridians Protecting Freedom is also
collecting signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot
next year. Now, the state bans abortion after 15 weeks with several
exceptions.

The text of the ballot measure says
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“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,” and its summary
notes the amendment wouldn’t change “the Legislature’s
constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or
guardian before a minor has an abortion.” 

Despite facing political headwinds — Florida Republicans currently
hold the governor’s office and the Senate and House — abortion
rights proponents say voters are on their side.

“I don’t think that [abortion rights opponents] have a winning
path because everyone — I don’t care how old you are, I don’t
care what color you are, I don’t care what political affiliation you
are — everyone is noticing that there are literal patients dying …
and they also believe that the government interference is a
problem,” said Sarah Parker, president of Women’s Voices of
Southwest Florida. 

Groups in Arizona and Missouri also are in the process of getting
abortion rights ballot measures in front of voters next year. The
efforts have expectedly drawn criticism from abortion opponents,
including Brian Westbrook, executive director and founder of the
anti-abortion group Coalition Life, who called it “a matter of
desperation from the other side.”

At the same time, abortion rights opponents are also moving to get
their constitutional amendments in front of voters.

In Florida, Protect Human Life Florida is looking to amend the
state’s constitution to include
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“the right to life of the preborn individual is God‐given, thus
unalienable and recognized accordingly. Therefore, it shall not be
infringed at any stage of development.” 

The proposed ballot initiative, which would be slated for 2024,
defines a “preborn individual” as “a preborn human person at any
stage of development” and offers several exceptions.

Iowa lawmakers were considering a proposed state constitutional
amendment
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that would “declare that this Constitution does not recognize,
grant, or secure a right to abortion or require the public funding of
abortion.”

To come before voters, the amendment needs to be approved in two
legislative sessions in a row. It was approved last legislative
session.

A spokeswoman for the Iowa Republican House caucus told The Hill in a
statement that no decision regarding the next immediate steps in the
constitutional amendment has been made, noting, “We will return for
our next Legislative Session in January and will continue to work on
legislation that protect life, support new parents and strengthen Iowa
families.”

Likewise, Pennsylvania could see a proposed amendment
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to add that the state constitution “does not grant the right to
taxpayer-funded abortion or any other right relating to abortion.”

Though that language passed the state legislature last session, it
would need to be passed through the state legislature in two
consecutive legislative cycles to go before voters. The state GOP
House and Senate caucuses confirmed to The Hill that efforts around a
potential abortion constitutional amendment have been paused.

“That has not been the focus of any constitutional amendment
movement this session,” Jason Gottesman, spokesman for the
Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus, told The Hill in a statement.

Anti-abortion rights groups are already gearing up to go toe-to-toe
with groups trying to enshrine abortion protections in their state
constitutions.

“We have filed public comments where there’s been an opportunity
to do so. We also are evaluating different options as far as the type
of canvassing — TV, digital, mail ads that we’ve done in previous
campaigns,” said Katie Daniel, state policy director at Susan B.
Anthony Pro-Life America.

While the issue of abortion has galvanized voters toward Democrats in
recent elections, some abortion rights opponents are hoping the same
will happen for them.

“I think more pro-life people are going to turn out and you’re
going to see that — maybe some of the pro-lifers who stayed home or
pro-lifers who weren’t that thrilled the last election cycle, I
think you’re going to see them turn out in droves,” said Lynda
Bell, Florida Right to Life president. 

But abortion rights activists believe voters across the political
spectrum support access to the procedure.

“I think that it would make me more nervous if I didn’t know how
badly people want to have this amendment. If I didn’t understand
that everybody — Democrats, Republicans, independents — that all
of us understand what’s at stake when we remove reproductive
freedom,” said Amy Fitch-Heacock, whose Arizonans for Reproductive
Freedom group is looking to put an issue on the ballot next year.

“I realize that there will be people from an incited base who will
turn out to vote but the reality is that we still outnumber them,”
she added.

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