Giving Compass' Take:
- Marissa Plescia reports that while seven states have passed abortion rights ballot measures, implementation faces delays due to systemic hurdles.
- How can philanthropic efforts help address the barriers hindering the implementation of newly protected abortion rights in these seven states?
- Learn more about key issues in health and how you can help.
- Search our Guide to Good for nonprofits focused on health in your area.
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While former President Donald Trump’s win of the White House was a blow to many reproductive rights advocates, Election Day some wins when it came to abortion rights ballot measures. In seven of 10 states, voters chose to protect abortion rights.
However, that doesn’t mean abortion rights will go into effect immediately in these states, experts say.
“People kind of think that abortion access can be like a light switch, like you flip it up because the law allows you to provide abortion care, and suddenly there’s all of these clinics and providers who are able to provide care. You flip it down when abortion is restricted, and those providers are able to just pause but not go anywhere,” said Kimya Forouzan, principal state policy advisor at Guttmacher, a nonpartisan research and policy organization in reproductive health. “That’s just not the case. What we see fairly frequently when there is a change in abortion law is that it just takes a bit of time, if ever, for that infrastructure to be built back up.”
In states with restrictions or bans, many providers have left the state, and it could take a while to restore the workforce.
Where Did Abortion Rights Ballot Measures Win?
Even though it’s not as easy as flipping a light switch, the seven states that passed ballot measures protecting abortion in the 2024 election were Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and New York. Missouri currently has a total abortion ban, but because the ballot measure establishes a fundamental right to abortion prior to viability, the state’s residents can legally challenge that ban. Fetal viability occurs generally during 24–26 weeks of pregnancy.
The ballot measure now allows Missourians to make decisions about abortion, contraception and miscarriage management, among other things.
Arizona, meanwhile, currently bans abortion at 15 weeks or later. Like Missouri, the ballot measure establishes a right to abortion and gives advocates a legal path to challenge the ban.
Read the full article about abortion rights ballot measures by Marissa Plescia at MedCity News.