Brief History of Abortion Related Initiatives and Referenda
Since the early 1970’s there have been more than 35 statewide measures on ballots dealing in some way with abortion. The initiative and referendum process have been used by both advocates for safe and legal abortion (pro-choice advocates) and opponents of abortion (anti-choice advocates).
Since the early 1970’s there have been more than 35 statewide measures on ballots dealing in some way with abortion. The initiative and referendum process have been used by both advocates for safe and legal abortion (pro-choice advocates) and opponents of abortion (anti-choice advocates).
This Brief History includes a list of initiatives by year, state, percentages of votes and more. What does this mean? The report also includes an assessment of impacts to the upcoming election and beyond.




