Measure to add abortion rights to California Constitution takes big lead in early voting

Abortion rights appeared to be on their way to becoming enshrined in the California Constitution Tuesday as Proposition 1 received strong support in early voting.

The measure, which was expected to pass, leads with 68.2% of voters saying “yes” and 31.2% “no” with roughly a third of votes counted. The decisive win would cement California’s role as a national leader in protecting abortion access.

Similar proposed amendments are also on the ballot in Michigan and Vermont, where early results show them both passing with 54.8% and 80.8% of the vote, respectively. A constitutional amendment in Kentucky that refuted abortion rights was also slated to pass.

From an election watch party in Sacramento, Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins celebrated California’s strong stance on with other Democratic leaders as voters across the country weighed in on a record number of abortion proposals .

“Tonight we celebrate reproductive freedom and that loud, clear message that abortion is and forever will be protected in California,” she said. “This is a historic moment, and we have met it with a historic response.”

Proposition 1 asked voters to explicitly insert a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the right to have an abortion and use contraceptives, in the state constitution.

It was placed on the ballot by California lawmakers following the Supreme Court’s June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had protected abortion rights at the federal level for nearly a half-century.

The reversal of Roe v. Wade did not limit access to abortion in California. State law protects the procedure to the point of fetal viability, and the constitution already includes a right to privacy. Generally, fetal viability occurs about 24 weeks into a pregnancy.

But Democratic lawmakers argued that Californians needed a stronger guarantee they will not lose abortion access if judges reinterpret the right to privacy down the road.

The campaign in support of Proposition 1 was led by many of the state’s most powerful Democratic lawmakers and officials, along with groups that included Planned Parenthood and the California Medical Association. Together they raised $18 million.

The opposition, led in large part by the Catholic Church and backed by the state Republican party, raised $2.1 million. Opponents argued the measure’s simple language would expand abortion rights into the final months of pregnancy because it doesn’t address the issue of timing.

Legal experts said that outcome is highly unlikely because a court would assess the amendment’s intent to simply reaffirm the existing right to abortion in California. The measure’s broad language, other constitutional law experts have said, is typical of constitutional amendments and meant to be filled in by the legislature.

The amendment reads: “The state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives.”

Ahead of the vote, Gov. Gavin Newsom encouraged voters to turn out on Tuesday with abortion on their minds.

“Abortion is on the ballot,” he said, echoing Democrats across the nation. “Freedom to make your own decisions about your health is on the ballot. Your rights are under attack by Republicans and the far right.”

After turning in her ballot in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood Tuesday, Michelle Nelson said abortion weighed heavily on her mind this election in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s demise even as inflation became top of mind for many voters.

“I cried hysterically when it was overturned. We always feel so safe here in California so lucky us, but imagining a woman in a hospital in the United States and not being able to have an emergency abortion makes me absolutely sick,” said Nelson, who is 32. “Inflation obviously sucks but someone telling me what to do with my body is vastly more important than paying four dollars more for milk.”

Abortion rights supporters have raised the question of whether the constitutional amendment would shield Californians in the event of a national ban. In September, Sen Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., introduced a bill that would prohibit the procedure after 15 weeks. Such a proposal would only pass if Republicans held both the House and the Senate, as well as the White House.

Should that happen, legal commentators said, such federal restrictions would likely override state abortion law.

This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 8:46 PM.