Your Rights Are On the Ballot: A Guide to Voting for Reproductive Justice
Reproductive Justice is more than just abortion. It's about bodily autonomy. It's about abortion access, birth control, comprehensive sex ed, the right to parent children in safe and sustainable communities, and why giving birth is still a death sentence for too many.
With federal constitutional protection for abortion gone, states are writing their own rules, and it's chaos. Advocates say we're witnessing a seismic shift in reproductive rights, with ripple effects touching every corner of American society. The Dobbs decision in 2022 didn't just overturn Roe v. Wade - many believe it flipped the table on healthcare equity across the nation.
So what's on the line in the 2024 election? Your medical privacy. Your health decisions. Your future. For some, it's literally life or death. This isn't just another ballot issue - it could make health decisions for you.
Abortion-related state constitutional amendment measures are on the ballot in the 2024 election for at least 10 states.
| State | Current Abortion Limit | Summary of Ballot Measure |
| Arizona | 15 weeks | Protect abortion up to viability and to protect the life or health of the pregnant person. |
| Colorado | No gestational limit | Recognize right to abortion and repeal a previous constitutional amendment that prohibited the use of state funds to provide abortion coverage. |
| Florida | 6 weeks | Protect right to abortion up to viability and when necessary to safeguard the pregnant person's health. |
| Maryland | Fetal viability | Guarantee a right to reproductive freedom, including the ability to prevent, continue, or end one's own pregnancy. |
| Missouri | Abortion Banned | Protect reproductive freedom and ability to make and effectuate decisions around reproductive health, including abortion up to viability. |
| Montana | Fetal viability | Protect the right to abortion up to viability. |
| Nebraska | 12 weeks |
Establish a fundamental right to abortion until fetal viability or when needed to protect the life or health of the pregnant person. Amend the constitution to ban abortion in the second and third trimesters, except in medical emergencies or when the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. |
| Nevada | 24 weeks | Establish a fundamental right to abortion until fetal viability or when necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person. |
| New York | Fetal viability | Amend the constitution's equal rights amendment to include anti-discrimination protections for pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy. Amendment backers contend these anti-discrimination protections would bar the NY Legislature from enacting abortion restrictions. |
| South Dakota | Abortion Banned | Amend constitution to set standards for when the state can regulate abortion: during the first trimester (first 13 weeks LMP) the state may not regulate a pregnant woman's decision to have an abortion; during the second trimester (14-27 weeks LMP) the state may regulate a pregnant woman's decision to have an abortion only in ways reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman; during the third trimester (beginning at 28 weeks LMP) the state may regulate or prohibit abortion except when abortion is necessary to preserve the life or health of the pregnant woman. |
Where do the presidential candidates stand on reproductive justice?
Kamala Harris
- has taken on reproductive justice as one of her top issues
- continuously expressed wanting to pass federal policy to protect reproductive rights
- made history by becoming the first president or vice president to visit an abortion clinic
- spoke out against Senate Republicans’ vote to block a bill that would protect IVF, saying “We stand with the majority of Americans – Republicans and Democrats alike who support protecting access to fertility treatments. And we continue to call on Congress to finally pass a bill that restores reproductive freedom.”
Donald Trump
- pegged himself “the most pro-life president ever”
- bragged about putting in place the Supreme Court that dismantled Roe v. Wade
- insisted that he gave Americans what they wanted by dismantling Roe and bringing the issue down to states to decide individually, despite 63% of Americans saying that abortion should be legal in circumstances.
- consistently contradicts himself on his stance on abortion and reproductive rights
Your vote is your voice. Use it to stand up for reproductive freedom.
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