Where Abortion Policies Stand Now

The Story: Voters in 10 states were asked to decide whether legalized abortion would be protected in their state constitutions. Here’s how they voted—and what it portends for the pro-life cause.

The Background: In nine of the 10 states, voters were asked to adopt the incoherent and arbitrary standard of “viability” as the line for when restrictions on abortion could be allowed. In the United States viability is considered to be at approximately 24 weeks of gestational age, late in the second trimester of pregnancy. (New York was the outlier, voting to prevent the state legislature from enacting any new laws to protect ​​the unborn at any stage of pregnancy.)

The initiative to expand abortion rights failed in only three states—Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Here are the initiatives each state adopted or rejected.

Arizona

Colorado

Florida

Maryland

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New York 

South Dakota

What It Means: Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Americans have voted 17 times on ballot initiatives to protect abortion rights. During those two years, the pro-abortion cause has won 14 times and lost three. The outcomes of these votes point to two crucial realities that both the church and the pro-life movement must confront.

While millions of Christians consistently voted to protect life in each of these 17 states—including where abortion initiatives ultimately passed—the sobering reality is that pro-life Christians do not constitute a majority of American voters. This highlights our need to build broader coalitions and find allies both within the church and beyond. The creeping secularization of our culture, affecting both the political left and right, has eroded the moral foundations that once made Christian pro-life advocacy more effective.

The national pro-life movement and the Republican Party also focused intensely on overturning Roe v. Wade but failed to sufficiently prepare for what came next. This oversight was both predictable and predicted by many within the movement. When nine judges gave the issue back to the states, ballot initiatives quickly showed there was not yet a pro-life majority willing to support restrictions on legal abortion.

The path forward requires a dual strategy. First, we must continue strengthening pro-life education and formation within our churches. While many Christians already stand firm for life, we can always do more to articulate the profound moral and theological foundations for protecting the unborn. Yet we must also recognize that church-based advocacy alone will not be enough.

As ballot initiatives continue across the country, protecting unborn life will require both strengthening our existing pro-life movement and expanding our outreach to new allies.

The pro-life movement needs to broaden its approach beyond relying primarily on national organizations, which have begun to compromise their values by endorsing pro-choice candidates. We need to develop new strategies for engaging with Americans who might be open to protecting life even if they don’t fully embrace our religious convictions. This could involve emphasizing scientific evidence about fetal development, promoting discussions about human rights and dignity, and building coalitions around specific policies that protect both mothers and children.

The future success of the pro-life cause will depend on our ability to build these broader coalitions while maintaining our core principles. We need to engage sympathetically with Americans who harbor reservations about stronger restrictions, understanding their concerns while making a compelling case for protecting life. This requires developing more nuanced and persuasive arguments that can reach beyond our existing base of support.

As ballot initiatives continue across the country, protecting unborn life will require both strengthening our existing pro-life movement and expanding our outreach to new allies. While the challenges are significant, we are not without hope. The same God who turned the hearts of slave owners against slavery and moved Christians to lead the civil rights movement can transform hearts today. The question is whether we will have the courage to speak truth in a way that lovingly challenges our fellow citizens to align their votes with their professed beliefs, and to rebuild a culture of life within America before it’s too late. The lives of countless unborn children depend on our answer.

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