Abortion

2026 State Ballot Initiatives on Abortion                                                                                                      

2026 brings multiple efforts by abortion rights forces to pass state ballot initiatives on abortion. The states of Nevada, Virginia, Idaho, and Oregon will need to mount a strong effort to rebuff the efforts being made by pro-abortion supporters.  Missouri, however, has gone on the offensive with a constitutional amendment to reverse the deadly effects of the state constitutional amendment which was enacted in 2024.

Missouri – Since passage of a state constitutional amendment on abortion in 2024 (with a 3.2% margin), abortion advocates have used the amendment to preliminarily block multiple Missouri statutes, including gestational limits on the performance of an abortion; prohibitions on sex-selective, race-selective, and Down Syndrome abortions; a requirement that abortion providers have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals; informed consent laws; a prohibition on telemedicine abortions; abortion-facility licensure laws; and a 72-hour waiting period.  Whether these statutes will be permanently blocked was the subject of a trial which began on January 12, 2026, but a decision has not been issued.

Meanwhile, the pro-life supporters have successfully obtained certification of Amendment 3, a proposed constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot in November 2026. According to the Missouri Catholic Conference, “the ‘new’ Amendment 3 would amend the Missouri Constitution to guarantee access to care for medical emergencies, ectopic pregnancies, and miscarriages; limit abortions to medical emergencies, fatal fetal anomalies, rape, and incest; restore health and safety standards for abortion clinics; ensure parental consent for minors; prohibit public funding of abortions except in limited circumstances; and, protect children from gender-transition treatments and procedures.”

Considerable litigation has focused on the description of the ballot initiative that will be provided to the voters. In addition, opponents of the pro-life ballot initiative have called the language pertaining to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender transition surgery “ballot candy” meant to sway more voters, and have argued that it violated the single-subject rule for ballot initiatives. But the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, rejected the argument and instead found that “the United States Supreme Court has recognized that gender transition surgeries may affect the ability to reproduce. United States v. Skrmetti, 605 U.S. 495, 505-06 (2025) . . . Because gender transition surgeries or hormone therapies may affect the ability to reproduce, gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies may be connected with, or incident to, reproductive health care.”

Nevada – A radical amendment to enshrine abortion into the Nevada Constitution was approved by the voters in November 2024 (64% approval). To become enacted it must be approved by the voters a second time in November 2026. The Nevada Catholic Conference opposes this amendment, arguing that it permits abortions “to the 9^th month of pregnancy, to full term;” that it “removes parental notification, consent, and family involvement from all reproductive decisions for their minor children, including abortion;” and that it “eliminates the ‘licensed physician’ requirement for abortion.” For more information, go to the Nevada Catholic Conference website here.

Virginia. In the opening days of the 2026 Virginia General Assembly this month, both the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate passed the proposed “Right to Reproductive Freedom” constitutional amendment (HJ 1) a second time (it had previously passed in 2025), clearing the way for it to be voted on by the general electorate in November 2026.

Upon its recent passage by the Virginia legislature, the two Bishops of Virginia, Bishop Burbidge and Bishop Knestout, issued a joint statement saying that the amendment would “enshrine virtually unlimited abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with no age restriction,” and would “severely jeopardize Virginia’s parental consent law, health and safety standards for women, conscience protections for healthcare providers, and restrictions on taxpayer-funded abortions.”  The two bishops said that they “will fight the extreme abortion amendment with maximum determination.”

Vermont. In 2022, Vermont enacted a constitutional amendment that was designed to enshrine abortion into the state’s constitution by guaranteeing that “an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course and shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”

Now a proposed “Equality of Rights” constitutional amendment is moving through the legislature. It passed the Vermont legislature in 2024 by a vote of 140-4 in the House, and 28-0 in the Senate. It must pass the Vermont legislature again in 2026 to be placed on the ballot in 2026. It reads in part: “That the people are guaranteed equal protection under the law. The State shall not deny equal treatment under the law on account of a person’s race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or national origin.”

Possible Ballot Initiatives

Idaho. The abortion rights supporters are collecting signatures to put a ballot initiative, the “Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act,” before the voters on November 3, 2026. As of November 2025, they had reportedly collected 50,000 of the almost 71,000 signatures that need to be collected by the end of April. It is important to note that this ballot initiative will not amend the Idaho constitution, but rather it is a citizen-led effort to enact a statutory law (a law which could be later amended by the Idaho legislature). The amendment is designed to overturn Idaho’s current statutory prohibition on abortion. Citizens are urged not to sign the petition in support of this extreme ballot initiative. Not only will it allow abortions through second trimester, it would overturn Idaho’s law requiring parental consent for a minor’s abortion, and would allow minors to access transgender hormones and surgeries without parental consent.

Oregon. Signatures are currently being collected in Oregon to put a constitutional amendment, “Equal Rights for All,” on the November 2026 ballot for a vote. It aims to prevent certain rights from governmental interference, including the right to abortion. It would guarantee equality of rights “on account of sex,” and define “on account of sex” to prohibit laws that discriminate based on pregnancy/pregnancy outcomes; gender identity; sexual orientation, including the right to marry; or sex.

We will continue to track these and other states that may have initiatives that seek to promote unregulated abortion.

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In 2025, some states continued to strengthen their pro-life laws and programs, while others continue to fight the expansion of the culture of death that already exists.

Missouri, for instance, was in an interesting position.  Last year, the citizens of Missouri passed an initiative to place a right to abortion in the state constitution.  In 2025, the General Assembly passed a resolution that proposes to place some common sense health and safety regulations on abortion as well as protect minors with parent’s right to know guidelines.

In 2024, 13 states began the process of attempting to insert the right to abortion in their state constitution.  Three of those states failed on procedural grounds to move forward.  10 of those states succeeded in completing the requirements to place the initiative on the ballot.  Of these ten, six states voted, by varying margins, in favor of inserting a right to abortion in the state constitution.  One state, Nevada, passed the first of two rounds of voting for their initiative (a second vote will take place in 2026), and three states, Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota thankfully failed to acquire the votes needed to make a virtually unrestricted right to abortion part of the constitution.

The following three states initiated the process of introducing an abortion amendment but failed to get it on the ballot.