Constitutional Right to Abortion to be Voted On

Constitutional Right to Abortion to be Voted On

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.”  Deuteronomy 30:19-20

“America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has
deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against
their children and women against men.

It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father’s role in an increasingly fatherless society.

It has portrayed the greatest of gifts — a child — as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience.  It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters.

And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners.

Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government.

They are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of his humanity.

The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign.”

Mother Teresa

Abortion on Ballots

This November, voters across 10 states will vote to decide on the rights of preborn children.  The ballot measures aim to amend state constitutions on abortion.

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— Lawyer Kelly (@lawyerkelly) August 31, 2024

Here’s a look at what’s happening in each state.

Arizona

Arizona will vote on a measure to establish abortion as a fundamental right up to fetal viability, with exceptions for the health of the mother.

• Title: Arizona Right to Abortion Initiative Constitutional Amendment, Proposition 139
• Citizen-initiated.
• Current law allows abortions through 15 weeks of pregnancy. Arizona courts paused enforcement of a prior pro-life law protecting babies from abortion at conception until September 26, 2024.
• Proposed amendment would create a so-called right to abortion before viability or at any time to preserve the health of the mother. The health exception becomes a loophole for late-term abortion.
• Threshold for passage: Majority vote (50% +1).
• May polling showed support for the abortion initiative at 65%.
• As of the most recent financial filing in July, abortion activists have raised $23.1 million, while the pro-life group is reporting approximately $866,000 in contributions.
• Abortion Committee: Arizona for Abortion Access
• Pro-Life Committee: It Goes Too Far

Colorado

Colorado is considering an amendment to provide constitutional abortion rights and allow public funding for abortions.

• Title: Colorado Right to Abortion
• Citizen-initiated.
• Current law allows for unrestricted abortion, and public funds cannot pay for abortion.
• Proposed amendment would create a so-called constitutional right to unrestricted abortion and permit the use of taxpayer funded abortion.
• Threshold for passage: Supermajority vote of 55%.
• As of the most recent financial filing in July, abortion activists have raised $4.6 million, while pro-life groups are reporting about $3,000 in donations.
• Abortion Committee: Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom
• Pro-life Committees: Right to Know Colorado, Vote No on 89

Florida

Florida (Amendment 4) seeks to ensure abortion rights before fetal viability or when necessary for the patient’s health, challenging the state’s current 6-week ban.

• Title: Florida Amendment 4, Right to Abortion Initiative
• Citizen-initiated.
• Current law protects babies from abortion beginning at six weeks gestation.
• Proposed amendment would create a so-called right to abortion before viability (the time at which a baby can live outside the womb) or at any time to preserve the health of the mother. The health exception becomes a loophole for late-term abortion.
• Threshold for passage: Supermajority vote of 60%.
• August polling shows support for the amendment at 58% and 61% which is trending down from a July poll that showed support at 69%.
• As of the most recent financial filing in August, the abortion committee has raised $42.5 million, while the pro-life committees reported $3.8 million in contributions.
• Abortion Committee: Floridians Protecting Freedom
• Pro-Life Committees: Florida Freedom Fund, Florida Voters Against Extremism, Keep Florida Pro Life, Do No Harm Florida and Life First

Maryland

Maryland aims to amend its constitution for reproductive freedom, encompassing decisions to end or continue pregnancies.

• Title: Maryland Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment Question 1
• Legislatively referred.
• Current law allows for abortion until viability and permits abortion at any time for the health of the mother.
• Proposed amendment would declare that women have a so-called right to reproductive freedom including the right to end a pregnancy.
• Threshold for passage: Majority vote (50% +1).
• As of the most recent financial filing in August, abortion activists have raised $568,000, while the pro-life group is reporting approximately $82,000 in contributions.
• Abortion Committee: Freedom in Reproduction
• Pro-Life Committee: Health Not Harm MD

Missouri

Missouri proposes a similar amendment, allowing state regulation post-viability but affirming reproductive freedom.

• Title: Missouri Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment 3
• Citizen-initiated.
• Current law protects preborn babies from the moment of conception.
• Proposed amendment would prohibit restrictions on abortion until after viability or at any time to preserve the health of the mother. The health exception becomes a loophole for late-term abortion.
• Threshold for passage: Majority vote (50% +1).
• As of the most recent financial filing in June, abortion activists have raised $5.5 million, while the pro-life group is reporting approximately $200,000 in contributions.
• Abortion Committees: Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, Abortion Action Missouri
• Pro-Life Committee: Missouri Stands with Women, Missouri Right to Life PAC

Montana

Montana (CI-128) focuses on a constitutional right to abortion, emphasizing decisions about one’s pregnancy.

• Title: Montana Right to Abortion Initiative Constitutional Initiative 128
• Citizen-initiated.
• Current law allows abortion until viability and at any time to preserve the health of the mother.
• Proposed amendment would prohibit restrictions on abortion until after viability or at any time to preserve the health of the mother. The health exception becomes a loophole for late-term abortion.
• Threshold for passage: Majority vote, (50% +1).
• As of the most recent financial filing in July, abortion activists have raised $3.2 million, while the pro-life groups are reporting approximately $15,000 in contributions.
• Abortion Committee: Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights
• Pro-Life Committee: Montana Life Defense Fund, Defend Life

Nebraska

Nebraska uniquely presents two competing measures: one to protect abortion rights until viability, and another to ban abortions after the first trimester, except in specific circumstances.

• Title: Nebraska Right to Abortion Initiative
• Citizen-initiated.
• Current law protects preborn babies starting at twelve weeks gestation.
• Proposed amendment would prohibit restrictions on abortion until after viability.
• Threshold for passage: Majority vote (50% +1) and minimum of at least 35,000 voters approving the change.
• Abortion Committee: Protect Our Rights
• Pro-Life Committee: Protect Women and Children
• Nebraska voters will also vote on a pro-life ballot measure this fall. If passed, the constitutional amendment would prohibit abortions in the second and third trimester. It includes exceptions for medical emergencies, rape and incest.
• If Nebraska voters pass both abortion-related amendments, then the one with the most votes wins.

Nevada

Nevada will decide on an amendment to enshrine abortion rights, reflecting a trend towards securing these rights in state law.

• Title: Nevada Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment Question 6
• Citizen-initiated.
• Current law allows abortion until viability and at any time to preserve the health of the mother.
• Proposed amendment would prohibit restrictions on abortion until after viability or at any time to preserve the health of the mother. The health exception becomes a loophole for late-term abortion.
• Threshold for passage: Majority vote (50% +1) in two consecutive general elections.
• Polling in June showed support for the abortion measure at 73%, up from a March poll which showed support for the measure at 68%.
• As of the most recent financial filing in June, abortion activists have raised $4.6 million, while the pro-life group did not report any contributions.
• Abortion Committee: Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom
• Pro-Life Committee: Coalition for Parents and Children

New York

New York has a measure that, while not explicitly mentioning abortion, aims to protect against discrimination based on reproductive healthcare decisions, effectively supporting abortion rights.
South Dakota is also on the list, though specifics might differ, generally aiming to secure abortion rights within the state’s legal framework.

• Title: New York Equal Protection of Law Amendment
• Legislatively referred.
• Current law allows for abortion until viability and permits abortion at any time for the health of the mother.
• Proposed amendment would prohibit so-called discrimination on the basis of “sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”
• Threshold for passage: Majority vote (50% +1).
• Polling in May shows support for the abortion amendment at 64%.
• As of the most recent financial filing in July, abortion activists have raised $2.7 million, while the pro-life group is reporting approximately $274,000 in contributions.
• Abortion Committee: New Yorkers for Equal Rights
• Pro-Life Committee: Coalition to Protect Kids-NY

Pray

Heavenly father, please protect your children – your image bearers – from violence starting at the womb.  Please open the eyes of those who do not view these precious babies as human.  Open their eyes, change their hearts.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.