Voters will decide the future of abortion in some states on Tuesday. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images
PUTTING IT TO A VOTE — The first major election in a post-Roe America will let voters have a voice in how the government should handle abortion.
But the measures offered on ballots throughout the country go beyond abortion — covering medical debt, Medicaid expansion, vaping and marijuana. More on those below.
— ABORTION. Five states are asking voters how to handle reproductive rights now that states have more leeway in legislating on the issue.
Voters in Montana and Kentucky can weigh in on whether they want their state governments to restrict abortion access. In Michigan, California and Vermont, voters will be asked whether abortion access should be protected under state law.
If approved by voters, Michigan’s measure would overturn a nearly century-old law that currently prohibits abortion. Voters in California will decide whether the right to abortion should be guaranteed, as will voters in Vermont.
If Kentucky’s measure passes, an amendment would be added to the state constitution that would explicitly state abortion isn’t legally protected — and tax dollars can’t go toward it. If Montana’s ballot initiative passes, it would become illegal (and punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine) for a health care worker to not try to save the life of a “born-alive infant.”
Ballot measures have given activists on both sides of the issue an opportunity to move policy, even when state governments would be unlikely to change it. The votes will be key data points on the political and policy future of abortion in America.
Tuesday’s ballot initiatives come in the wake of a similar vote in Kansas, where voters rejected a policy that would restrict abortion access.
WELCOME TO MONDAY PULSE in a busy election week. Half of dentists say patients come to appointments high on marijuana or another substance — which can sometimes result in needing another visit. Extra anxiety and paranoia in the dental chair is recommended by zero out of 10 dentists.
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