Introduction

On November 3, residents of Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia will vote on ballot measures that will shape the future of abortion rights in their states. If passed, the measures would amend state constitutions or laws, enshrining abortion protections in Idaho, Nevada, and Virginia—while repealing them in Missouri.

Protective ballot measures have played an essential role in court battles challenging harmful abortion restrictions in the past. In Arizona and Michigan, the Center for Reproductive Rights has used voter-approved constitutional amendments to strike down harmful policies such as mandatory waiting periods or bans on telemedicine. At the same time, anti-abortion politicians in some states have ignored the demands of voters, with legal fights over now-unconstitutional restrictions continuing to rage.

States have become key battlegrounds for abortion rights since the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade, which took away the federal constitutional right to abortion. Over the past four years, ten states have enshrined the right to abortion into their constitutions, while residents in others have rejected efforts to remove existing state constitutional protections.

State ballot measures

Idaho, Nevada, and Virginia move to protect abortion—while Missouri threatens to ban abortion

Today, the legal status of abortion varies widely across these four states. Missouri and Nevada both have pre-existing protections in place, while Idaho is currently enforcing a near-total ban. In Virginia, abortion care has remained accessible but is not expressly protected by state law.

The changes proposed by each ballot measure also vary state by state:

• Idaho’s Proposition 1 would establish a right to abortion in state law. It would create a right to reproductive freedom and privacy, including contraception, fertility and maternal health care. Idaho’s total abortion ban currently in effect is so extreme that doctors have left in droves, while patients have been airlifted out of state for emergency care.
• Missouri’s Amendment 3 would prohibit abortion with extremely limited exceptions. This comes after Missourians overwhelmingly voted to protect abortion in 2024.
• Nevada’s Question 6 would establish a fundamental right to abortion under the state constitution. Voters approved the amendment in 2024, but the measure has to be approved twice in order to be adopted. This is the second and final vote on this measure.
• Virginia’s Question 1 would amend the Virginia Constitution to establish reproductive freedom as a fundamental right, including abortion, contraception, and fertility and maternal health care.

Escalating attacks

As attacks on access escalate, state abortion protections are crucial

The overturn of Roe v. Wade was a victory for the anti-abortion movement, emboldening extremists in their quest to cut abortion access off entirely. Many states, including Idaho, already had trigger bans in place—abortion bans that could quickly go into effect with Roe out of the way.

Anti-abortion extremists have also ramped up their efforts to restrict abortion access at the federal level. This includes attacks on medication abortion, which has served as a lifeline for millions since Roe’s overturn and today accounts for more than 60% of abortions nationwide.

“The reality is that women and families have been suffering under abortion bans. We hear stories every day of people going septic or being forced to remain pregnant only to give birth to stillborn babies,” says Daria Neal, Senior Director of U.S. Policy & Advocacy for the Center Reproductive Rights. “They are proof that abortion is essential, life-saving health care—and voters know it. Americans deserve to have control over their own bodies and lives instead of being undermined by politicians. Our voices matter.”

Through both legal action and legislative advocacy, the Center remains committed to the fight for abortion rights. Join us today.