BISC Shares Abortion Ballot Measure Landscape for November’s Midterms
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 9, 2022
PRESS CONTACT:
Britton Lee
[email protected]
RELEASE: Ballot Initiative Strategy Center Shares Abortion Ballot Measure Landscape for November’s Midterms
WASHINGTON — With less than 90 days until the midterm elections, the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC) released a statement outlining what the abortion measure landscape will look like for November’s elections.
Last week, Kansans sent a clear message: no to abortion bans. As the first state to vote directly on the right to abortion following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, voters used their power to strike down the Value Them Both amendment, allowing abortion to remain safe and legal in Kansas. Kansas’ victory for the reproductive healthcare, freedom, and justice movement, despite working against anti-choice legislatures, will help set the precedent for states with reproductive rights on the ballot this November.
States such as Kentucky, Montana, Vermont, California, and potentially Michigan, will have measures on the ballot that will determine the fate of state-level abortion access.
We know that Americans overwhelmingly support access to abortion and reproductive freedom, making it more important than ever for voters to use the power of direct democracy in order to directly influence the future of abortion access.
The ballot initiatives in Vermont, California, and potentially Michigan intend to protect state-level abortion access. However, the November ballot measures in Kentucky and Montana threaten reproductive freedom altogether. In Kentucky, the anti-abortion ballot initiative attempts to declare that there is no right to abortion and no public funds may go towards abortions. The ballot measure in Montana states that infants born at any stage of development are legal persons and criminalizes doctors by imposing nebulous treatment requirements under the threat of a $50,000 fine and 20-year imprisonment. Similar to the recent vote in Kansas, voters in Kentucky and Montana must turn out in droves in order to reject these harmful, restrictive, and outright oppressive measures.
As a national organization, focused on partnering with in-state coalitions to uplift the ballot initiative process and progressive ballot measures, BISC will continue to work with and support our state and national partners to protect our right to manage our bodies, our destinies, and our privacy.
To learn more about what will be on the ballot this November, check out BISC’s 2022 Ballot Measures to Watch series and visit the Ballot Measure Hub for weekly updates throughout the fall.