Uphill battles that put abortion rights on ballots are unlikely to end even if the measures pass

(AP) — Voters in nine states are deciding next month whether to add the right to abortion to their constitutions, but the measures are unlikely to dramatically change access — at least not immediately.

Instead, voter approval would launch more lawsuits on a subject that’s been in the courts constantly — and more than ever since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door to state abortion laws. In some states where the issue is on the ballot, it’s already widely available.

If Missouri’s amendment passes and takes effect in December, the measure would not repeal a state ban at all stages of pregnancy or the layers of other regulations — including a 72-hour waiting period and 44-inch (112-centimeter) doorway rule for clinics — that forced Planned Parenthood to stop abortions in two offices years before Roe was overturned.

“A yes vote for this is not a vote to overturn anything. It is a vote to ensure that the courts will have to fight this out for a long time,” said Republican state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman.

Coleman, who is also a conservative constitutional lawyer, said the Republican-dominated Legislature could also go back to voters to ask them to undo the amendment if it passes.

Still, the measure would mean that “the wind will be at our back” in court fights to overturn restrictions, said Emily Wales, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which operates in four states and is the only group in recent years to provide abortions in Missouri. The last clinic in Missouri, run by another Planned Parenthood affiliate, stopped offering abortions just before Roe was overturned.

“It will feel tremendously different to us to say, ‘Missourians have a constitutional right. If you’re going to interfere with it, you’ve got to have a pretty good cause,’” she said.