Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overruled the Roe v. Wadeand Planned Parenthood v. Casey abortion decisions, several states had ballot measures involving abortion. Three states added abortion provisions to their state Constitutions. Two states voted down measures that would restrict abortion.
California voters approved Proposition 1, introduced by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which explicitly protects abortion and contraceptive rights in the state Constitution.
Michigan voters also passed a ballot initiative to fortify abortion rights. Proposal 3 affirms a woman’s right to make decisions “about all matters relating to pregnancy,” including contraception, fertility, abortion and childbirth.
Vermont’s Proposal 5 overwhelmingly passed and creates a constitutional right to “personal reproductive autonomy.”
Regarding states attempting to protect unborn life, Kentucky’s Amendment 2 was defeated which would have amended the state Constitution to explicitly state it doesn’t “secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”
In addition, voters in Montana voted against Legislative Referendum 131 which would expand rights for infants who are “born alive” after failed abortions, and allow healthcare workers to face punishments if they don’t give them proper medical treatment.
Liberty Counsel has filed amicus briefs at the state Supreme Courts in Indiana, South Carolina, Kentucky and Oklahoma on behalf of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) and the Frederick Douglass Foundation to uphold there is no right to abortion within the states’ Constitutions and defend pro-life laws that limit the killing of innocent unborn children.
The NHCLC and Frederick Douglass Foundation represent millions of African Americans and Hispanics. These minority communities have been the direct target of abortion, and most Planned Parenthood’s abortion clinics are in black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Liberty Counsel also filed an amicus brief on behalf of the NHCLC and the Frederick Douglass Foundation at the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dobbs abortion case. In overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the High Court cited to this brief acknowledging that abortion has disproportionally impacted the black community.
Liberty Counsel’s Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “It is shameful that any state would vote to kill innocent unborn children in the womb. We must do better and make the womb a safe place once again.”
