WASHINGTON: Voters in Missouri cleared the way to undo one of US's most restrictive abortion bans in one of seven victories for abortion rights advocates, while Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota defeated similar amendments, leaving bans in place.
Abortion rights amendments also passed in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland and Montana. Nevada also approved an amendment, but it'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 US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, a ruling that ended a nationwide right to abortion and cleared the way for bans in most Republican-controlled states.
Among Trump's inconsistent positions on abortion has been an insistence that it's an issue best left to the states. Still, he can have a major impact on abortion policy via executive action. Meantime, Missouri is set to be the first state where a vote will undo a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy.