Winding down an unprecedented election season, the Associated Press declared Trump the 47th President of the United States on Wednesday morning. Advocates say the outcome is a disappointing decision that shows where America stands.
As Trump’s Project 2025 blueprint promises sweeping changes to federal policy—including further restrictions on reproductive rights—advocates warn of escalating challenges ahead.
“The unnecessary and cruel harm caused by the first Trump administration includes a reproductive health care crisis in vast swaths of the United States that has led to the deaths of numerous women who are likely the tip of the iceberg. President-elect Trump has boasted about appointing three Supreme Court Justices who ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade. In the wake of that ruling, abortion care is nearly or completely banned in 17 states,” Nancy Northup, President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement emailed to Reckon. “A second Trump administration will compound these harms with new, potentially far worse ones.”
During his first tenure as president, Trump appointed three Supreme Court Justices, which ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that federally protected abortion rights. Since leaving office and launching his third bid for presidency, Trump’s stance has swayed from calling himself the “most pro-life president ever,” to saying there should be punishment for abortion, then aligning himself with states’ right to decide and distancing himself from a federal ban.
In April, The 19th reported Trump celebrated the overturning of Roe, while stating the issue was up to the states to decide. In September, during the first and only presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump argued that he gave Americans what they wanted by leaving the decision at the state level. “I did a great service in doing it. It took courage to do it,” he said.
Though the future of federal abortion policy remains to be determined, Americans in 10 states voted on reproductive rights initiatives that could eradicate their current abortion bans or further protect less restrictive policies by enshrining them in states’ constitutions. Of 10 initiatives, 7 passed.
Polling by Pew Research Center published in May suggested that abortion isn’t as polarizing an issue as we’ve been led to believe. While they found that 85% of Democrats believed that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, so did 41% of Republicans. The numbers are closer between men and women, with 61% of men supporting abortion, compared to 64% of women.
“Our country is very divided around candidates and political parties, but we’re actually not very divided on the issue of abortion. We are actually in a moment of overwhelming public support for keeping abortion safe and legal and despite the candidate outcomes of last night, we cannot lose that thread that the American people have issued a clear mandate that the crisis of abortion access has got to stop. Too many people have suffered,” Kimberly Inez McGuire, the executive director of United for Reproductive & Gender Equity (URGE) told Reckon. URGE is a state-driven national reproductive justice organization powered by and for young people in the South and Midwest.
Here’s where abortion won in the 2024 election:
Arizona – Passed
The future of abortion access has teetered for months, with much in the balance as a key swing state.
Proposition 139, the Right to Abortion Initiative establishes abortion as a fundamental right up to the point of viability, which is generally around 24 weeks. After gathering the most signatures ever submitted by a citizens’ initiative in Arizona history, according to Arizona for Abortion Access, Arizonans showed up for their bodily autonomy at the polls overriding their current 15-week ban.
“What a major win and turnaround for Arizona, yet another battleground state where voters are refusing to have their reproductive rights stripped away. It was just two months ago that the state’s 1864 total abortion ban was officially repealed, but Arizonans have still faced fear, uncertainty, and denial of care under the state’s 15-week ban. That’s why it’s so significant that they voted today to affirm abortion as an explicitly ‘fundamental right’ in their state constitution,” Northup said.
Colorado – Passed
Amendment 79, Colorado’s Right to Abortion and Health Insurance Coverage Initiative enshrines the right to abortion in the state constitution and allows abortion health insurance coverage for Colorado state and local government employees and for enrollees in state and local governmental insurance programs.
According to CBS, the ballot measure rolls back on a 1984 Colorado constitutional amendment that banned state money from funding abortion. At the time of publication, over 61% of voters voted yes on this initiative, surpassing the required 55% approval it needed with only 73% of the states votes accounted for.
Florida – Didn’t Pass
Florida’s Amendment 4, the Right to Abortion Initiative was the first of the night to be called. Needing 60% of the vote to pass, Floridians nearly ended the state’s controversial six-week ban and voted to prevent future laws from restricting abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health.
About 57% of Floridians voted to pass the amendment.
While the initiative did not pass, advocates say Floridians made their stance on abortion heard loud and clear.
“Despite relentless government sabotage, the state’s promotion of disinformation, and, anti-democratic attacks, the majority of Floridians still voted for Amendment 4. The people have spoken and have sent a clear mandate to the legislature: repeal Florida’s extreme ban. Today’s results are evidence of the strong support for abortion access in Florida and only fuels our resolve to keep fighting government interference,” Lauren Brenzel, Campaign Director of Yes on 4 said in a statement released Tuesday night.
McGuire echoed the sentiment shared by Brenzel.
“I think Florida, even in the loss of the ballot initiative, is still a stunning victory for a Southern state where a lot of young people and a lot of people of color showed up to say abortion should be legal and accessible, and it’s frankly heartbreaking that the state’s abortion ban will remain in place despite the fact that overwhelming majority of the people said they should stop,” McGuired told Reckon.
Maryland – Passed
While abortion was already legal in Maryland, voters pushed through an initiative to further protect their reproductive freedom by amending the state’s Declaration of Rights. This measure, the Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment, will protect both providers and patients from civil or criminal penalties, with over 74% of voters approving the measure.
Missouri – Passed
Missouri’s Amendment 3, The Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative passed, enshrining the state constitution to prevent the government from interfering with Missorians’ right to reproductive freedom. This is defined in the text as the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive healthcare including abortion, prenatal care, miscarriage care and more.
As the Kansas City Star reports, Missouri was the first state where voters ended an abortion ban since the fall of Roe, a bold statement in a historically Republican state.
“Anti-abortion politicians in our state raced to make Missouri the first state in the country to enact a total ban after the Dobbs decision,” Emily Wales, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, said at a Kansas City watch party Tuesday night. “Now they get to watch as we take back our rights and become the first state to end a total abortion ban after Dobbs.”
Montana – Passed
Montana is another state where voters took abortion rights a step further. Already legal due to a 1999 state Supreme Court decision which states that women who seek abortion are protected by their right to privacy, activists pushed for more explicit protection and voters said yes.
Ballot Issue 14 received over 57% of the vote, according to NBC at the time of publication.
Nebraska – Didn’t Pass
In Nebraska, voters were faced with two counter constitutional amendments on abortion, passing the restrictive policy which was organized by Protect Women and Children, backed by religious organizations. According to the Associated Press, the initiative was funded by wealthy Nebraskans, including Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts, who donated more than $1.1 million and his mother Marlene who donated $4 million.
Initiative 434 bans most abortions after the first trimester, with exceptions for rape, incest, or the patient’s life. According to the Nebraska Examiner, this measure also gives the legislature the authority to pass additional restrictions, including a full abortion ban.
Nevada – Passed
Nevada’s Right to Abortion Initiative, which states that abortion is a fundamental right which the state can not interfere with up to the point of viability (except in cases to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient), passed with over 63% of the vote, according to Scripps.
“With these results, voters across party lines rejected misinformation and fear-mongering to send an unequivocal message: decisions about abortion should be made by women, their families, and their medical providers – not politicians,” Lindsey Harmon, president of Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, said in a statement.
Per state law, voters will have to approve this ballot initiative again in 2026 in order for it to be added to the constitution, which could further strengthen access in the Southwest for people traveling from states with abortion bans.
New York – Passed
New York, which has historically served as an abortion travel hub since the state legalized abortion in 1970–three years before Roe– approved an amendment measure to further protect abortion access.
The constitution will be amended to protect people from discrimination based on”sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.” According to NPR, it builds on constitutional protection that intends to prevent discrimination on race, ethnicity or religion.
“New Yorkers resoundingly said ‘hell no, not here’ to abortion bans and attacks on immigrants and trans people,” Donna Lieberman, executive director at the New York Civil Liberties Union said in a press release Tuesday. “No matter what happens in the rest of the country, New York is moving forward… In New York, equality and inclusion are now the law of the land.”
South Dakota – Didn’t Pass
Rounding out the list of three states which did not pass their abortion initiatives, South Dakota attempted to enshrine Amendment G, the right to abortion within the first trimester. According to the South Dakota Searchlight, 61% of voters voted against the measure.
The state currently has one of the strict abortion laws in the country, where it is a felony to perform an abortion, with the exception of saving a patient’s life.
As the final counts add up, Biden’s presidency ends and the U.S. enters a second Trump term, McGuire says it’s important to gear up to support the communities we care about in the face of the future.
“It’s so important not to let the hatred– that is so apparent in so much of this country– to let that invade our values. This is a moment where we have got to stand up for and protect our immigrant neighbors, our trans siblings, people who need abortions, we have got to all ask ourselves what are we willing to do to protect and defend our families, our neighbors, our communities from the attacks that we know are coming,” she said.