Voters approve abortion rights measures in seven states while three states reject proposals

Voters in seven out of ten states approved constitutional amendments to protect or expand abortion rights in recent ballot measures. This marks a significant shift, as three states—Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota—rejected similar proposals, ending a two-and-a-half-year trend of successful abortion rights measures. In Arizona and Missouri, voters passed initiatives that protect abortion rights until fetal viability, reversing existing laws. Meanwhile, Nebraska's approved measure allows abortion in the first trimester but bans it in later trimesters, codifying current state law. The defeats in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota maintain strict abortion laws in those states. Florida's failure to pass an amendment keeps its six-week abortion ban in place, while South Dakota's near-total ban remains unchanged.