Arizona and Missouri will join a growing group of states holding ballot measures this November to codify the right to abortion into state law.
On Monday, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes certified that advocates had gathered 577,971 signatures in favor of the Arizona For Abortion Access Act, a proposed amendment that would certify the right to abortion into the state’s constitution. On Tuesday, Missouri approved a similar initiative that — if passed in November — would reverse the state’s all-but blanket ban on abortion.
The two states join Nevada, Arkansas, Colorado, South Dakota, Florida, and Maryland in putting abortion referendums in front of voters on Election Day.
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022,state-level ballot measures seeking to enshrine the right to reproductive choice have been overwhelmingly successful — and have been a driver of Democratic turnout in midterm and off-cycle elections. In California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, and Vermont, voters have affirmed their right to reproductive freedom.
“This is a huge win for Arizona voters who will now get to vote YES on restoring and protecting the right to access abortion care, free from political interference, once and for all,” Arizona for Abortion Access Coalition Campaign Manager Cheryl Bruce said Monday.
“The decision to have an abortion is personal, private, and must be left up to patients and their families. But here in Missouri, the government is making that decision for us by force,” Margot Riphagen — Vice President of External Affairs, Advocates of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri — said during an online press conference on Tuesday. “This ballot measure is our opportunity to vote for reproductive freedom, and this certification is one step closer to building meaningful abortion access for Missourians. This is an opportunity to put the power back into the hands of the people.”
Dr. Selina Sandoval, Associate Medical Director at Planned Parenthood Great Plains, added that “this moment is not an end point, but a beginning. We must continue to advocate for policies that protect access to care and stand firm against those that seek to undermine it. We have a lot of work ahead, but today is a day we celebrate a crucial step forward.”
Tori Schafer, Deputy Director for Policy and Campaigns of the ACLU of Missouri, indicated that the coalition was prepared to counter any legal challenges to the ballot measure. Given the overwhelming success of past measures in other states, anti-abortion groups have leveled challenges against these sorts of initiatives. In Arizona, Republican lawmakers in the legislature have signaled that they will approve an opposing ballot measure restricting reproductive rights in the state.
The voter referendums on reproductive freedom are not the only way the fight over abortion rights will affect the 2024 election. Republican election conspiracy theorist and failed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is locked in an intense fight with Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) for the Senate seat that will be vacated by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), and Gallego has made Lake’s support of hardline anti-abortion policies a central component of his campaign against her. Gallego cheered the news about the abortion initiative on Monday. “YES. One step closer to protecting abortion rights in AZ,” he wrote on X.
In Missouri, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley is seeking a second term in Congress. His 2024 Democratic opponent, Lucas Kunce, has hammered Hawley as an anti-abortion zealot who is out of touch with the average voter. Kunce, too, celebrated the news of Missouri’s initiative.
“Democrats, Republicans, and Independents came together across our state to take back power over their lives and bodies from control-freak politicians, thanks to the hard work of Missourians for Constitutional Freedom,” Kunce said in May after the referendum coalition announced it had secured the necessary signatures to submit the ballot measure. “See you in November, Josh Hawley.”
