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Florida Says No to Abortion Rights, While New York and Maryland Affirm It

Referendums on abortion rights were held in several states at the same time as the presidential election, and the issue became a major element of the campaign

Nov 6, 2024 07:50 48

Florida Says No to Abortion Rights, While New York and Maryland Affirm It  - 1

< p>The proposal to include the right to abortion in the constitution of the state of Florida failed in the referendum, but similar provisions were adopted in New York, Maryland and Missouri, the American media reported, cited by DPA and the Associated Press, cited by BTA.

Florida was the most closely watched of the three states, as Republican ex-president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump was projected to win there. During his tenure, Trump has nominated justices seen as responsible for overturning women's national right to abortion.

60% of the vote was needed to pass the Florida referendum proposal. The measure would have allowed abortion when it was "necessary to protect the patient's health, as determined by the patient's health care provider." Supporters of the measure, however, only managed to muster 57% of the vote, leading to its rejection, a result seen as a victory for Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had actively lobbied against the proposal.

In the states of Maryland and New York, where, according to the American media, the Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris is leading, the measures were expectedly adopted.

In Maryland "for" as many as 74% of voters voted. NBC specifies that this figure is with 55% of the votes counted, but the proposal is likely to be approved without difficulty.

In New York, about 70.3% of voters supported the right to abortion. According to the proposal, people cannot be deprived of rights on the basis of "ethnicity, national origin, age and disability", as well as on the basis of "gender, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, consequences of pregnancy and reproductive health care and autonomy".

Missouri voters also approved the inclusion of the right to abortion in the state constitution. This replaces the almost complete ban on the procedure that was in place and allows for a legal challenge to the abortion ban introduced in 2022, AP notes.

Referenda on the right to abortion are being held in parallel with the presidential election in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota. In Nebraska, voters must decide on a referendum to ban abortions, DPA points out.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has made reproductive health and abortion rights central issues in her campaign.