How many states are voting on the legality of abortion in the November election?
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:
On June 24, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; overturning precedent set in Roe v. Wade (1973). Since then, the issue of abortion rights has been fought at the state level. According to the map above, how many states will vote whether to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions this November?
Supporters of abortion rights hope to continue their winning streak in both blue (Democratic) and red (Republican) states, after a successful run of measures since the overturn of Roe v. Wade. How many of the abortion measures shown above would protect abortion rights?
In all the state abortion ballot measures, what is the highest threshold percent needed to pass?
26 states allow for citizen sponsored ballot measures in elections. What is the term for the type of democracy where the people can bring a referendum or initiative straight to the ballot?
There is no such a thing as a national citizen sponsored ballot measure. Explain whether you think there should be a process to bring citizen sponsored measures to national elections?
In what way does this map and table above illustrate the concept of federalism?
There is no federal law that protects the right to have an abortion. What would happen to the legality of abortion if the U.S. Congress passed a bill legalizing abortion and the president signed the bill?
If we had a purely democratic system and took a vote on abortion’s legality, based on the data from the chart above, abortion would probably be legal. But we don’t vote on certain things, and certain rights are protected no matter their popularity. What is the name of the type of democracy which protects the rights of the minority and does not allow the majority to rule on everything?
Explain how much you believe the issue of abortion will impact the upcoming presidential elections?
The presidential candidates have very different policy positions on abortion. Read the following two descriptions of their positions and explain which you prefer:
Kamala Harris
After Roe was struck down, Harris led the Biden administration's charge to protect reproductive rights. She toured the country advocating for abortion access, including a first-of-its-kind visit to an abortion clinic for any vice president. Harris has called on Congress to pass a law restoring protections to the right to abortion that were guaranteed by Roe, saying she would "proudly" sign it if it came to her desk. When announcing her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, she praised his state for being the first in the country to pass a law codifying abortion rights after Roe was overruled. She's been critical of abortion restrictions passed by Republican-led states in recent years and has tied the fall of Roe to Trump after he appointed three Supreme Court justices to the court who supported overruling the landmark abortion decision.What are the policy positions of the two presidential candidates on abortion rights.
Donald Trump
Trump previously touted his support for abortion restrictions and his role in nominating three conservative Supreme Court justices, all of whom helped overrule Roe in a 5-4 vote. Throughout this campaign, however, he's shifted his stance on some issues. Trump now says abortion should be a states' rights issue and rejects Republican calls to endorse a national abortion ban, after previously urging some level of restriction at the federal level in his tenure as president.
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
Taylor says to go online and register to vote. It will take less than 2 minutes.
Get Creative
Write your own ballot initiative about any topic that you think is interesting. The process of getting an initiative on the ballot varies by state, and there is no federal law that addresses the state initiative process. Contact your state legislators to find out more about the process in your state.
Learning Extension
Check out the Guardian’s table of the legality of abortion by state.
*The landmark Supreme Court case, Roe v. Wade (1973) ruled that In the first trimester of pregnancy, the state may not regulate the abortion decision; only the pregnant woman and her attending physician can make that decision. In the second trimester, the state may impose regulations on abortion that are reasonably related to maternal health. In the third trimester, once the fetus reaches the point of “viability,” a state may regulate abortions or prohibit them entirely, so long as the laws contain exceptions for cases when abortion is necessary to save the life or health of the mother. The constitutional right to privacy forms the basis of the ruling in Roe v. Wade, yet the words, “right to privacy” do not exist, word for word, in the U.S. Constitution. On June 24, 2022 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; overturning precedent set in Roe v. Wade (1973).