Voters in seven US states pave way to remove abortion bans

Missouri is poised to become the first US state where voters approved an amendment allowing for the removal of a near-blanket ban on abortion, one of the most restrictive bans in the nation. Six other states including Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Montana, Nevada and New York also passed similar amendments on abortion rights.

Voters in Missouri cleared the way to undo one of the nation's most restrictive abortion bans in one of seven victories for abortion rights advocates, while Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota defeated similar constitutional amendments, leaving bans in place.

Abortion rights amendments also passed in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland and Montana. Nevada voters also approved an amendment, but they'll need to pass it again in 2026 for it to take effect. Another that bans discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy outcomes” prevailed in New York.

The results include firsts for the abortion landscape, which underwent a seismic shift in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a ruling that ended a nationwide right to abortion and cleared the way for bans to take effect in most Republican-controlled states.


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