Idaho voters will decide whether to roll back the state’s abortion ban, the secretary of state told the group behind the initiative in a letter Monday, joining three other states where abortion will be directly on the ballot on Nov. 3.Voters in Virginia and Nevada — both states where abortion is already legal through at least 24 weeks of pregnancy — are considering state constitutional amendments to create a right to abortion.And in Missouri, which in 2024 became the first state to use a constitutional amendment to undo an abortion ban, voters are being asked to override that to bring back an abortion ban, with limited exceptions, and to write into the state constitution a ban on some gender-affirming care for minors.Here’s a look at the situation.
One of the most conservative states could undo its banThe measure put on Idaho’s ballot through a volunteer-run petition drive would create a law, not an amendment to the state constitution.Idahoans United for Women and Families, which is leading the campaign, shared with The Associated Press a letter from state election officials Monday verifying that it has qualified for the ballot.It would allow abortion until fetal viability, which is generally considered to be somewhere past 21 weeks into a pregnancy, though there’s no fixed time frame. The change would make the state’s law similar to what it was before the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to ban abortion.Idaho now is one of six states where an abortion ban at all stages of pregnancy does not include exceptions for the health of the girl or woman. Like most other bans, it does allow abortion to save the life of the woman or in pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
