Dear John,
Election day is closing in on us—and as the first election following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson, a lot is riding on the outcome.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court said that “the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.” But in the face of rampant voter suppression, gerrymandered legislative districts, and the resulting underrepresentation of women and people of color in elected office, the Court’s statement isn’t so simple.
This November, a multitude of ballot measures across the states will help determine the future of abortion rights in the U.S. In Kentucky, voters will decide on a potential constitutional amendment that if implemented would declare that there is no state constitutional right to abortion. And Montana voters will see a measure declaring that “infants born alive at any stage of development are legal persons,” and punishing healthcare providers with civil penalties and up to 20 years of jail time.
However, states are also moving to safeguard abortion access in the wake of Dobbs. In Vermont, voters will decide on a potential amendment to the state constitution which would declare “an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy” as a fundamental right. California voters will decide on a similar constitutional amendment, which goes a step further and also enshrines the fundamental right to contraception in the state’s constitution. And Michigan voters will vote on an amendment that would create a state constitutional right to reproductive freedom and permanently strike down a 90-year old law banning abortion.
Fortunately, primary elections this past summer show that voters are paying attention—and they’re not going to give up their rights without a fight. In Kansas, voters showed up in droves to reject a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed the Republican-dominated state legislature to severely restrict access to abortion. If the polls which indicate an overwhelming majority of public support for abortion rights are any indication, Kansas was just the beginning. Check out our feminist voting guide and more on the ballot measures online at msmagazine.com and below.
