More states on track to have abortion measures on ballot
Ballot measures in Arizona and Nebraska ensuring abortion access advanced closer to a vote, with groups ushering in the measures saying they had collected enough signatures.
Abortion rights activists are working to put amendments on the ballot in as many red and purple states as possible, and Nebraska and Arizona are among the 11 states that could see ballot measures.
Arizona for Abortion Access submitted 823,685 signatures, which they said represents 1 out of every 5 Arizona voters.
“This is the most signatures ever gathered for a ballot measure in Arizona history, which is a testament to the broad support among Arizona voters for restoring and protecting abortion access in Arizona,” the organization’s campaign manager Cheryl Bruce said in a statement.
Nebraska, meanwhile, looks poised to have two competing abortion ballot measures this year.
One measure would ban abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, while the other would protect abortion access until fetal viability, usually around 24 weeks. Abortion is currently banned after 12 weeks.
A Nebraskan coalition called Protect Our Rights, which is working to put a measure on the ballot that would enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution, announced that it had submitted 207,000 signatures.
The anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America announced that a different coalition, Protect Women and Children, had submitted over 205,000 signatures for a measure that would codify the current 12-week ban into the state constitution.
Voters across several states have continually voted in favor of abortion access since the Dobbs decision in 2022. Ballot measures protecting abortion access have passed in states including California, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia. Democrats are hoping to ride this momentum through the 2024 election cycle.
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This July, in honor of Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, please join The Hill as we convene a diverse group of administration officials, lawmakers, medical providers and advocates to discuss the impact of mental health inequities in the United States.
Speakers include:
Daniel Dawes, founding dean, Meharry School of Global Health
Dr. Gary Puckrein, president, National Minority Quality Forum
Daniel Gillison, CEO, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Dr. Patrice Harris, former AMA president
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Around the Nation
Local and state headlines on health care:
Arkansas OB-GYN says proposed abortion-rights amendment could revive standard of care (News from the States)
‘I’m not ready to give up:’ Idaho ban prompts clinic to halt gender-affirming care (Idaho Capital Sun)
‘Unprecedented’: State mandates insurance coverage at urgent cares to relieve overwhelmed ERs (Boston Globe)
What We’re Reading
Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:
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What People Think
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Minnie Hanson is a news writer at Simplym Press, where she covers politics, health, business, parenting, and finance. She also has a passion for writing about sports and the arts.
Minnie has lived in New York her whole life and graduated from New York University with a degree in journalism. She loves to read, watch movies, and listen to music when she's not working—but she doesn't have a lot of time for hobbies these days.