Abortion on the ballot: Where voters protected preborn children, and where they didn’t

Voters in numerous states and cities took to the polls yesterday and were faced with ballot questions directly related to the protection of preborn lives.

The biggest victory for preborn children was in Florida, where voters did not meet the 60% margin needed to overturn the state’s law protecting preborn children from abortion at around six weeks, instead upholding the safety and protection of those preborn lives. Voters in South Dakota also rejected a radical pro-abortion ballot measure that would have undone the state’s law restricting abortion, while those in Nebraska rejected a measure that would have expanded the state’s current law allowing abortion in the first trimester, to allowing it throughout pregnancy.

However, protections for preborn human beings were stripped elsewhere, including a loss in Missouri that will repeal the state’s near-total protections for preborn babies, and once again allow the tragic killing of countless preborn lives.

Here’s how abortion fared on the ballot:

Arizona

Arizona voters said yes to Proposition 139, which legalizes abortion through all nine months of pregnancy. The measure’s passage will undo the current law protecting preborn children from abortion after 15 weeks.

Colorado

Colorado voters passed Amendment 79, which further solidifies the state’s pro-abortion stance by enshrining the ‘right’ to abortion in the state’s constitution.

Florida

Florida voters failed to pass Amendment 4, which would have undone the state’s law protecting preborn children and allowed the killing of preborn children through all nine months of pregnancy.

“Amendment 4 has been defeated in Florida! This victory will save tens of thousands of innocent human lives every year,” said Live Action founder and president Lila Rose. “The abortion industry and its allies such as George Soros poured over $100 MILLION into a campaign to enshrine the killing of preborn babies through all nine months of pregnancy into Florida’s constitution, outspending pro-life efforts by a wide margin. But the pro-abortion lobby’s financial onslaught and the intense pro-abortion bias of Florida newsgroups couldn’t defeat the resolve of Floridians to protect preborn children.”

Maryland

Voters in Maryland approved Question 1, which enshrines abortion as a constitutional ‘right.’ Its passage, in the already pro-abortion state, will likely mean the repeal of important protections for minors, such as current parental involvement laws.

Missouri

Voters in Missouri chose to undo the state’s pro-life protections with the passage of Amendment 3. The amendment will undo the state’s law that had previously protected nearly all preborn children from abortion. Some groups have speculated as well that it may also impact transgender issues as related to minors.

“This is not the result we wanted but despite being outspent by millions of dollars life won in the majority of Missouri counties. Our work to protect the safety of women and the dignity of life continues,” said Stephanie Bell of Missouri Stands with Women. “Life supporters will not sit back and watch as Big Abortion works to dismantle all the health and safety protections put in place to protect women and babies. We will continue to fight and ultimately be victorious against the forces who see no value in life.”

Montana

Montana voters passed Initiative 128, which expands the state’s already liberal abortion law by allowing abortion up to birth.

Nebraska

Nebraska voters were faced with two abortion-related ballot measures this year: Initiative 439, which would have declared abortion a constitutional ‘right’ and allowed it through all nine months, and Initiative 434, which would leave the state’s current 12-week abortion restrictions in place. Voters rejected 439, instead opting for Initiative 434 and its current protections for preborn children.

Nevada

Nevada voters overwhelmingly approved Question 6, which legalizes abortion through all nine months in the state, which currently allows abortion for any reason up to 22 weeks gestation.

This year’s passage does not mean the amendment will automatically take effect; per state law, it needs to pass another vote in 2026 before ratification.

New York

New York’s voters said yes to Proposition 1, the Equal Rights Amendment. It makes abortion a constitutional ‘right’ in the already pro-abortion state by expanding the groups covered by the constitution’s Equal Protection Clause to include “ethnicity, national origin, age, disability and sex — including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, reproductive health care and autonomy.” Read more about the troubling “pregnancy outcomes” language here.

South Dakota

Nearly all preborn children are protected from abortion in South Dakota, a status voters chose to uphold. The state’s voters overwhelmingly rejected Amendment G, which would have removed restrictions and allowed abortion through all nine months.

Amarillo, Texas 

Voters in Amarillo defeated a ballot measure that would have designated it a “Sanctuary City for the Unborn.” The measure would have solidified preborn protections by prohibiting elective abortions and abortion trafficking through city limits.

San Francisco

Voters approved Prop O, a pro-abortion ballot measure that uses taxpayer funds to expand abortion access while specifically targeting pregnancy resource centers that provide help and support to pregnant mothers and young families.

Other Pro-life Groups React

Secular Pro-Life noted the massive amount of pro-abortion spending on the ballot amendments in comparison to pro-life spending, expressing surprise that the pro-life side had any victories at all.

“Across the 10 states in total, PL side spent about $25M to PC side’s $214M. So they spent about 9X what we did,” the group wrote on Facebook, adding:

Notably, only in NE and SD did PL spend more than PC: about 10% more in NE, about 60% more in SD. And those were both states we won. But also notably, PC spent about half their cumulative money ($117M) in FL, over $100M more than PL, and still lost.

Overall, in the 7 states where PC won, they outspent PL by an average of 30X (3000%) as much. (This is all based on Ballotpedia’s campaign finance sections for each amendment as of yesterday.)

Frankly given the sheer fortune PC spends, and given the deluge of deception that reaches millions of Americans (Crain, Barnica, Thurman, infant mortality rates, MMR in Texas, etc etc), it’s amazing that they still lose.

Christina Francis, CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, issued a statement on behalf of Florida Physicians Against Amendment 4, a group of over 700 physicians across Florida, calling the victory in Florida “unprecedented,” adding that it “should be viewed as the start of a revolution for women’s healthcare in America.” After seven devastating losses in states across the nation, the people of Florida, led by the physicians who treat them, have resisted attempts to put politics ahead of compassionate and excellent care.”

Live Action president and founder Lila Rose said in a press release of the victory in Florida:

Abortion is the worst human rights violation of our time with over 2,800 children killed every single day in our nation alone. Florida, our country’s third most populous state, has spoken clearly—it stands for the human right to life. Pro-life voters overcame immense opposition to reject the extreme, anti-life amendment, sending a resounding message to our nation’s leaders: Life is a winning issue when there is strong leadership ready to fight for it. Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis have written a new playbook for victory and shown what real leadership to protect human rights looks like.

Pro-life legal group Alliance Defending Freedom stated in a press release:

We celebrate the incredible victories in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota. While there is much work to do, these states have chosen to remain free to promote policies that protect every unborn life and empower mothers.

But for states that have enshrined abortion in their state constitutions, the people are now shackled by the chains of these extreme amendments. As we have seen in other states where similar amendments passed, activists will use these measures to push for late-term abortions, taxpayer-funded abortions, the removal of parental notification laws for when a minor gets an abortion, and the stripping away of conscience protections for medical professionals who do not want to participate in abortion.

Thankfully, the pro-life movement will never stop working to provide life-affirming care for women and children that recognizes the inherent beauty and worth of every single life.

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