How Could the 2022 Midterms Affect Abortion Rights Across the U.S.?

It’s been a difficult—to say the least—year for abortion access, as the June overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court set the stage for reproductive rights to be challenged in all 50 states. With the results of the 2022 midterm elections fast approaching, things are poised to get even tougher for those seeking abortions in some states, even as others seek to enshrine abortion rights in their state Constitutions. Below, see the 5 states where abortion rights will be impacted the most by the outcome of the midterm.

Kentucky

This historically red state was already affected by an abortion trigger law after the fall of Roe, and anti-abortion activists have already put a ballot measure that would state that nothing in the state’s constitution protects the right to an abortion; the measure would be used to challenge an upcoming ACLU legal argument seeking to protect abortion rights within the state’s constitution. The ballot measure, Amendment 2, is being referred to by pro-choice opponents as a large-scale misinformation campaign.

Michigan

A 1931-era anti-abortion law that provides zero exceptions for cases of rape or incest could be struck down by Michigan voters in this year’s midterms, which would constitute a major win for state-by-state reproductive rights in the post-Roe era.

Montana

The legal question of personhood—as it relates to fetal viability—is being raised yet again in Montana, where voters will decide on a law declaring that an embryo or fetus is a legal person with a right to medical care if it is born prematurely or survives an attempted abortion. This type of “born alive” law would impose criminal penalties of up to 20 years in prison and up to a $50,000 fine on any health care worker who doesn’t try to save a “born-alive infant” or fetus.

California

This Election Day, Californians will have the option to enshrine the right to abortion and contraception in the state constitution through an amendment introduced earlier this year by Gov. Gavin Newsom that would make the state among the most progressive in the country with regards to abortion rights.

Vermont

An amendment to Vermont’s state constitution establishing the right to “personal reproductive autonomy” is being introduced to voters on the 2022 midterms ballot; if passed, the amendment would read 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.”