Abortion rights on the ballot in several states this election

Judy Woodruff:

As you heard Lisa say, abortion is not the top issue for most voters in this election.

Just 11 percent of Americans who say they are definitely voting this year rank abortion as their number one issue. Among Democrats, it is twice that, 22 percent. But the question of abortion rights is being put directly to voters in some states.

Amna Nawaz has more.

Amna Nawaz:

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, abortions appear to be on the decline. A new study by the Society of Family Planning shows the number of legal abortions nationwide in July and August dropped by more than 10,000.

Meanwhile, most of the political debate on the issue is taking place at the state level. Four states have abortion rights on the ballot this fall.

And joining me now are reporters from two of those states.

Zoe Clark is political director for Michigan Radio, and Ryland Barton is managing editor at Kentucky Public Radio.

Welcome to you both. Thanks for joining us.

Ryland, kick us off here in Kentucky. Right now, your state has a near total abortion ban. That's being challenged in a lawsuit, right? But, this election, there is an amendment on the ballot, Amendment 2. What could that mean for abortion access in Kentucky?

Ryland Barton, Kentucky Public Radio:

Right.

So what this amendment is seeking to do is to add language to the state Constitution saying that there is no legal right to an abortion under the state Constitution. So, because at after the Dobbs ruling, there was a lawsuit filed in Kentucky to try and see if there was some state protection for abortion in the state.

Legislators had preempted that by passing this proposal to try and ensure that the court would not find any legal basis for a right to an abortion in the Constitution. So, if this passed, that really kind of solidifies that in place, ensures that — or attempts to ensure that no — that no right would be found under the Constitution.

And, yes, there's been a lot of energy among abortion rights activists to try and keep this — keep this from passing, but also anti-abortion advocates as well trying to get it passed.

Amna Nawaz:

Zoe, in Michigan, abortion is also on the ballot, it's fair to say. Michigan voters this election are going to vote on a ballot measure, Proposal 3.

Now, abortion is currently legal in Michigan, we should point out. So how would this proposal potentially change that access?

Zoe Clark, Michigan Radio:

Right.

So, and let's note that abortion is currently legal in Michigan, and that's simply because of a court injunction. There is a 1931 law on the books right now that criminalizes abortion that basically would have gone to effect after Dobbs but for a court decision.

Proposal 3 is on the ballot. And what that would do is basically enshrine abortion rights into the state Constitution.

Amna Nawaz:

So, how big a deal is this?

Ryland, in Kentucky, like, how much is this resonating with voters? When you look at some of the key races in particular, right, for example, the Senate race between the Republican, Rand Paul, and the Democrat, Charles Booker, is this a big issue? Are voters paying attention?

Ryland Barton:

I mean, it certainly is. I mean, it's popping up in every one of these races, Charles Booker's challenge to Senator Rand Paul.

Booker is really trying to make this a big issue. And this is something that Republicans are just kind of banking that, well, voters have elected so many anti-abortion politicians over the years that ultimately pass constitutional proposals like the one voters are about to weigh in on that they figure that this is just going to kind of go in favor of them.

There has been a lot of organizing on both sides of this issue. There's canvassing going on. There are commercials. There's a whole lot of money that's been going into this, and really abortion rights advocates have been winning that fund-raising fight. They're hoping to — they're hoping for a similar result that took place in Kansas earlier this year, when a similarly conservative state, but with a Democratic governor, ended up — voters ended up rejecting a similar constitutional proposal.

So, abortion rights advocates, really, they're hoping that Kentucky is going to follow down that line. They think that there's a pathway to do it.

Amna Nawaz:

Zoe, Ryland mentions that Kansas decision. I think a lot of people pointed to that and said, well, this is the real — first real test of that Supreme Court decision right after that. Does that set any kind of precedent for Michigan, do you think? Are there similarities there?

Zoe Clark:

Well, I think we have to remember the issue that, in Kansas, right, it was saying we want to continue to have the right, right?

Here in Michigan, basically, it's saying we want to add this right to the state Constitution. But, absolutely, when this vote happened back in August, I think supporters of abortion rights and certainly the referendum for — in favor of getting abortion rights on the Constitution were very excited and hopeful that that would be something that could kind of portend the results for the November election here in Michigan.

Amna Nawaz:

And, Zoe, what are you seeing on the ground?

I mean, when you look at the money that has been pouring into this fight over Proposal 3, you look at some high-profile races, the gubernatorial race, for example, between the Democrat incumbent, Gretchen Whitmer and the Republican, Tudor Dixon, is abortion rights a central issue for Michigan voters?

Zoe Clark:

Absolutely. Absolutely.

And poll after poll shows that it really is either sort of abortion, and then economy and inflation, or economy and the inflation and then abortion. And in our gubernatorial race, we have incumbent Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who really has made abortion rights even before the Dobbs decision a centerpiece of her campaign.

She continually says she is going to fight like hell to keep abortion rights legal here in Michigan. And we have Tudor Dixon, the Republican who is not in favor of Proposal 3, what she says is anti-abortion, not rape, not incest, only in life of the mother.

But I think she's even reading the tea leaves a bit, because her campaign or her put out a tweet earlier that basically said, now that Proposal 3 is on the ballot, you can vote for me for governor, but still vote for abortion rights. It's a really interesting kind of trying to thread that needle there.

Amna Nawaz:

Ryland, when you look ahead, you mentioned the money pouring in. You mentioned some of the comparisons, some of the similarities between the population in Kansas and in Kentucky.

But it's also been three months, right, since that decision — since Kansas voted, rather. Do you think — the Democrats, yes, they're banking on it, but is it a big enough issue to make a difference for voters there in Kentucky?

Ryland Barton:

I think it's a really great question.

I mean, and you talk to the political observers on either side of the aisle, and they're going to give their own take. Democrats really feel like, yes, this is something that still is energizing voters. Republicans are saying that, no, inflation and other issues are really dominating what's getting people to get to the polls.

We're not really going to know the results of that until the ultimate poll there is, which is on Election Day. But we will see. And there's really big implications for this. In Kentucky, there's a — this — there's a case working its way through the court system that the state Supreme Court will hear the following week, right after this election.

And the justices have said that this, depending on how Kentuckians vote, will influence how they end up weighing in on that case.

Amna Nawaz:

Zoe, what do you want us to take away?

What should we understand about the Michigan electorate and how they look at this issue?

Zoe Clark:

Oh, my goodness, that this is really one of these sort of historic moments in this state, because, again, this is enshrining a right into the Constitution.

And it's a right that I think, for many voters, they haven't had top on mind really for decades here in Michigan. There have certainly been amendments and questions of vis-a-vis restrictions about abortion, but nothing like this. And it's really going to be fascinating to watch next week as results come in.

Amna Nawaz:

It will be fascinating, indeed. And we will be watching in Kentucky and Michigan.

My thanks to you both for joining us tonight. Zoe Clark, political director for Michigan Radio and Ryland Barton, managing editor at Kentucky Public Radio, thank you.

Ryland Barton:

Thank you.

Zoe Clark:

Thank you so much.