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On Tuesday, millions of voters in three states—California, Michigan, and Vermont—will get to vote on propositions that, if passed, would make abortion a constitutional right in their states. Meanwhile, voters in Kentucky will get a chance to do the exact opposite. Montana also has a ballot proposition, but it is unlike either of the above. If passed, it would make it a crime for health providers to fail to try to save the life of a fetus born alive, even after an attempted abortion. People convicted of the crime could face 20 years in state prison. Medical providers have fiercely opposed the measure.
Michigan currently has a law passed in 1931 that bans all abortions. If Proposal 3 passes, the law would become unconstitutional and thus void. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) supports the measure. Her opponent, Tudor Dixon (R), opposes it. In Kentucky, the reverse scenario is playing out. Abortion there was legal until trigger laws cut in after the Dobbs decision. There is a court fight about them now in progress. If the state Constitution were to explicitly ban abortions, that would end the court fights. If the amendment fails, the court fights will go on.
The campaign manager for the amendment, Rachel Sweet, led the successful campaign for the pro-choice side in the Kansas referendum and is hoping she can make lightning strike twice. Preventing the state constitution from being amended to ban abortion would be a signal to the Kentucky politicians that the voters do not want abortion banned. However, even a big victory for "No" would not make abortion legal in Kentucky unless the state Supreme Court throws out the current law that makes nearly all abortions illegal. (V)