Oct 14, 2026 · 24 min
Four states put abortion rights back on the ballot
The State That Might Re-Ban Abortion
The measures could reshape constitutional protections, access, and the political boundaries of the anti-abortion movement after Dobbs.
- 1Nevada and Virginia are pursuing constitutional protections, while Idaho and Missouri could narrow or eliminate recently established abortion rights.
- 2Abortion measures remain potent with voters because access is inseparable from affordability, family finances, and the practical burden of crossing state lines.
- 3Abortion abolitionists are pushing the broader anti-abortion movement toward total bans and criminal penalties for patients.
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Carter Sherman explains why Virginia’s constitutional measure matters through the story of a patient who crossed state lines for care.
The brief
Carter Sherman joins Jane Coaston to examine abortion measures in Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia, where voters could expand constitutional protections or repeal recently established rights.
The measures arrive as abortion access remains unusually powerful at the ballot box. Sherman connects that strength to family finances and the costs of obtaining care, including travel across state lines.
Nevada is voting again on constitutional protections, while Virginia’s measure could secure a crucial Southern access point. Missouri presents the sharpest reversal: a proposal that could undo rights recently established by voters.
The conversation also traces how abortion abolitionists seek total bans and criminal penalties for patients, pushing the broader anti-abortion movement toward more extreme positions.
The episode’s central tension is whether ballot measures can protect access faster than courts and legislatures can restrict it—and whether Missouri could show rights moving backward.
Books & mentions
Stateside
Carter Sherman’s show provides a related lens on reproductive health, justice, and politics.