Abortion rights weren’t the story of the midterms. They still won.
Vox · Rachel Cohen Booth ·
But Idaho’s defeat exposed a strategic divide over how far abortion rights measures should go — and which ones are worth backing.
On Tuesday night, voters cast their ballots in favor of abortion access in Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia, reflecting the continued popularity of the issue across red, blue, and purple states, even as it fell out of the political conversation compared to other topics this cycle.
All told, the abortion rights victories in this latest election will strengthen or preserve abortion protections for millions of women of reproductive age, as well as thousands of others traveling from more restrictive areas for care. With the latest results, there are now 14 states where voters have backed abortion rights in ballot referendums since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
Abortion rights advocates saw their one big loss of the night in Idaho, where a citizen-led ballot initiative to challenge one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans failed. The measure aimed to legalize abortion up to the point of fetal viability (typically between 22 and 24 weeks of a pregnancy) and in medical emergencies. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came out against the measure in September, while national reproductive rights groups largely avoided investing in the campaign.