Abortion won big in yesterday’s elections, proving that abortion rights retain popular support.
Abortion access received solid support in ballot measures in California, Montana, Michigan, Kentucky and Vermont.
- Michigan: Voters enshrined abortion in the state’s Constitution by passing Proposal 3. This amendment further bars the state from prosecuting an individual for having an abortion or for assisting someone in receiving abortion care.
- California: Voters in the Golden State also enshrined abortion in the state’s Constitution with Proposition 1. Unsurprisingly, the California Catholic Conference actively opposed Proposition 1, as did the California Family Council, a Christian-oriented political organization.
- Vermont: Vermonters overwhelmingly supported Article 22, the Reproductive Liberty Amendment, which provides a constitutional protection to abortion. This further protects abortion in a state where there is already an abortion protection law.
- Kentucky: In a close race, voters in Kentucky rejected a ballot measure that would have denied any constitutional protections for abortion or abortion funding.
- Montana: Montanans voted down a deceptive abortion ban law that would have criminalized health care providers and limited their care options.
These election results demonstrate what public polls have shown: Abortion access receives overwhelming support across political lines. Freethinkers lead the way with 87 percent of supporting abortion in all or most cases. A YouGov analysis last spring found that atheists are the most likely to identify as pro-choice, at 91 percent. Furthermore, a 2020 survey of FFRF’s membership found that a whopping 98.8 percent support abortion rights.
“The only organized opposition to abortion is religious in nature, and today the assault is led largely by Christian nationalists,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Freethinkers are well aware of the role that religion plays in denying basic reproductive rights. Voters showed up for abortion — and human — rights,”
While these measures are worth celebrating, there’s much work to be done to protect abortion throughout the country. Most abortions are now banned in at least 13 states, with court battles taking place in these and many other states. Sign up for Action Alerts so that you can help us defend the separation of state and church.