Voters will either adopt or reject the new language based on a majority vote on Nov. 5, 2024.
Maryland amendment proposal
The proposed constitutional amendment in Maryland would establish a new right to abortion in the state constitution’s Declaration of Rights.
Under the proposed language, titled the Reproductive Freedom Amendment, the state constitution would recognize a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” which it says is “a central component of an individual’s rights to liberty and equality.”
The proposed amendment would recognize the new right as including, but not being limited to, “the ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end one’s own pregnancy,” which would effectively establish a constitutional right to both contraception and abortion.
Per the proposal, the state would be prohibited from directly or indirectly denying, burdening, or abridging that right unless justified by a compelling state interest, which is achieved by the least restrictive means possible.
Current Maryland law allows abortions up to the point of fetal viability, which is when the child could live outside of the womb. This generally occurs around the 24th week of pregnancy. It is unclear whether the amendment would extend abortions further into pregnancy based on the broad language used.
This proposal will also be adopted or rejected by a majority vote on Nov. 5, 2024.
Efforts to expand abortion in pro-life states
A proposed constitutional amendment in Ohio would also establish a constitutional right to abortion. This will appear on the ballot on Nov. 7, 2023.
A proposed constitutional amendment in Ohio would also establish a constitutional right to abortion. Supporters of the amendment have announced that they acquired the necessary number of signatures to get the proposal on the ballot for Nov. 7, 2023, but those signatures still need to be verified by the secretary of state and the county board of elections officials.
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In Ohio, voters only need a majority vote to adopt an amendment. However, a ballot initiative scheduled for Aug. 8 would set the threshold for adopting a constitutional amendment to 60%. This would apply to all subsequent constitutional amendments, including the abortion proposal.
The proposed amendment in Ohio would prohibit lawmakers from restricting abortion before viability, which usually occurs around the 24th week of pregnancy. It would extend the protection past viability if the medical provider determines the mother’s life or health is at risk.
Current Ohio law permits abortions up to 22 weeks of pregnancy, but litigation is currently pending on a law that would ban abortions at the point that a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which is around six weeks.
A proposed constitutional amendment in Florida would also establish a constitutional right to abortion up to the point of viability “or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s health care provider.”
This proposal, which is still in the signature gathering stage, would appear on the Nov. 5, 2024, ballot and would need to be approved by 60% of the electorate.
Current Florida law prohibits abortion after 15 weeks, which is enforced but being challenged in court. If the court finds that the law is constitutional, a trigger law would go into effect that would ban abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, which occurs around six weeks of pregnancy.