New York, Colorado, Maryland and Missouri have voted in favor of constitutional amendments that will protect access to abortion after the repeal of the Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade that guaranteed this right at the federal level.
In the case of Maryland, where abortion is already legal, the reform enshrines in the constitution “the right to reproductive freedom, including and not limited to the ability to make decisions to prevent, continue or terminate pregnancy.” The measure complicates any attempt to roll back abortion rights.
In Missouri, where Donald Trump has won with 63% of the votes and the first to make abortion illegal after the revocation of Roe v. Wade, has approved a constitutional reform that protects the right to abortion, thus revoking an almost absolute ban. The citizen petition will legalize abortion up to 24 weeks. “We do not accept this nightmare being imposed on us,” said Tori Schafer, associate director for policy and campaigns at the rights NGO ACLU Missouri.
For its part, the measure in New York is not as explicit, as it expands anti-discrimination laws on the basis of “sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy and reproductive health.”
Finally, Colorado, where there is currently no gestational limit, has also strengthened abortion protections in the Constitution. The measure also eliminates the current constitutional veto on public financing for abortions, which would allow the state to cover this process through the Medicaid program.
Six other states have also voted on measures to protect abortion. One of these measures has already failed in Florida, which will keep the abortion ban in force from the sixth week. In this case, the majority of voters voted in favor of lifting the abortion ban, but participation did not reach the necessary 60%.
“The reality is that a minority of Florida voters have decided that Amendment 4 will not be approved,” lamented Lauren Brenzel, campaign director of the Yes on 4 Campaign, as she shed tears. “The reality is that a majority has just voted to end the abortion ban in Florida,” he added.
The other states that have voted on abortion access are Arizona, South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska and Nevada and still have no results.
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