Voters in 12 states could see abortion on their ballots this year, including three states where ballot measures have been certified for the ballot—Florida, Maryland, and New York. Measures have been proposed in nine other states. This report provides the most recent updates on abortion-related ballot measure certifications and potential measures.
On April 18, the campaign Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom submitted 230,000 signatures for a ballot initiative to provide a constitutional right to abortion in the state of Colorado. If the initiative makes the ballot in the state, it will be the tenth time that Colorado voters will decide on an abortion-related ballot measure—the most of any state. The last time Colorado voters decided on abortion was in 2014, when voters rejected an amendment that would have defined person to include a fetus or unborn human being.
Another Colorado campaign supporting an initiative that would have prohibited abortion in the state did not submit signatures to meet the deadline—proponents announced on April 18 that they did not gather enough signatures. This initiative would have defined living human child as a human being beginning at the moment of conception, and would have established penalties for individuals and facilities that perform abortions.
