### Abortion Opponents Secure Key Victories in Ballot Measures Following Roe's Overturn

In a significant shift, abortion opponents have achieved their first major victories in state ballot measures since the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, with voters in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota upholding bans on the procedure. This development breaks a two-year streak in which abortion-rights advocates had successfully defended or expanded reproductive health rights in multiple states.

Despite these setbacks for abortion-rights groups, measures in seven states, including traditionally conservative Missouri and Montana, were passed on Tuesday to restore, preserve, or extend the right to terminate a pregnancy. These wins came despite substantial efforts by GOP state officials, Republican-appointed judges, and anti-abortion advocacy groups using legislation, legal challenges, and public pressure campaigns to derail them.

However, the results in GOP-dominated states such as South Dakota underscore the challenges faced by the left in keeping voters focused on reproductive rights issues. Conservative activists have also pledged to continue their efforts against passed initiatives, with plans to file legal challenges and potentially introduce additional ballot measures.

Notably, Arizona became the first state since Roe's fall to overturn a 15-week abortion ban. The state's initiative garnered support across the political spectrum, from conservatives opposed to government intervention in personal health decisions to liberals who were moved by stories of patients being denied care.

Missouri voters also made history by overturning a near-total ban on abortion, enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution. This happened even as they re-elected staunch anti-abortion Senator Josh Hawley, highlighting the complex views of the state's electorate.

Several states that have become destinations for those seeking abortions from banned regions, including Colorado, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, and New York, voted to either codify or expand access to the procedure. These measures primarily aim to cement existing laws, but some, like Colorado's, will make abortion more accessible by allowing state Medicaid funding.

In Florida, a majority supported a ballot measure to overturn the state's six-week abortion ban and restore access through fetal viability. However, the initiative fell short of the required 60 percent support for passage, thwarted by legal battles and significant opposition efforts led by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.

Meanwhile, in South Dakota, voters rejected a ballot initiative that would have loosened the state's near-total abortion ban. National abortion-rights groups withdrew support due to differences with local advocates, complicating efforts in the conservative state.

Nebraska's voters faced a choice between competing initiatives—one to restore abortion access up to fetal viability and another to uphold the state's 12-week ban. The latter prevailed, buoyed by a campaign funded by wealthy residents including Republican Senator Pete Ricketts.

While ballot measures have been a crucial tool for abortion-rights advocates in the post-Roe era, only a few deep-red states such as Idaho, Oklahoma, and Utah still have the ability to put forward citizen-proposed ballot initiatives. Activists have pledged to continue their efforts in these states and in places like Florida and Arkansas, where efforts to get similar measures on the ballot were previously blocked.