Massachusetts No Right to Public Funding for Abortion Initiative (2022)
| Massachusetts No Right to Public Funding for Abortion Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Abortion | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Massachusetts No Right to Public Funding for Abortion Initiative (#19-01) did not appear on the ballot in Massachusetts as an indirect initiated constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.
Measure design
The measure would have added the following sentence to the state constitution: "Nothing in this constitution requires the public funding of abortion."[1][2]
Text of measure
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for the measure would have been as follows:[3]
| “ | This proposed constitutional amendment would permit the state to exclude abortion services from state-funded health care.[4] | ” |
Constitutional changes
The measure would have added a new sentence to the Massachusetts Constitution. The following text would have been added:[2]
Support
In September 2019, all four Roman Catholic dioceses in Massachusetts announced that they would allow signature gathering for the petition at churches. The Massachusetts Catholic Conference of Bishops released guidelines affirming the initiative was in accordance with the teachings of the Church.[5][6]
Opposition
If you know of opponents or arguments that should be posted here, email editor@ballotpedia.org.
Background
State funding of abortion under Medicaid
The Hyde Amendment of 1977 prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment. A total of 34 states and Washington, D.C. follow this model. Fifteen states have policies allowing for the use of state Medicaid funds for most or all abortions deemed medically necessary by a medical professional. Nine of the 15 states do so only when directed by court order while six states, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Oregon, and Washington, do so voluntarily. South Dakota only allows for the use of Medicaid funds for abortion when the mother's life is in danger and does not have exceptions for cases of rape or incest. In Iowa, the state governor must approve abortions paid for by the state's Medicaid program.[7]
Path to the ballot
In Massachusetts, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot equal 3 percent of votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. No more than one-quarter of the verified signatures on any petition can come from a single county. Signatures must be submitted to the secretary of the commonwealth by the first Wednesday in December in the year that is at least two years before the year of the targeted election date. Massachusetts is unique among states with a process for initiated constitutional amendments because state law requires that any proposed initiative with enough valid signatures be approved by one-quarter of state legislators in a joint hearing—with senators and representatives voting together—in two successive sessions for the initiative to be certified for the ballot.
The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Valid signatures required: 80,239 valid signatures
- Deadline (2022 petitions): The deadline to submit signatures for consideration by the legislature in 2020 and 2021 sessions was December 4, 2019.
- Deadline (2022 petitions): The deadline to submit signatures for consideration by the legislature in 2021 and 2022 sessions was December 2, 2020.
If enough signatures are submitted by the deadline, the initiative goes to the legislature, where it must garner the approval of 25 percent of all lawmakers, with senators and representatives voting jointly, in two successive sessions. If this requirement is met, the initiative goes on the ballot at the next general election. Because of this unique requirement, the earliest an initiated constitutional amendment can reach the ballot is two years following signature submission. And, depending on the year, it can be three years after signature submission before voters decide on the measure.
Details about this initiative
- The initiative was cleared to circulate on September 4, 2019.[1]
- The sponsors of the initiative submitted an insufficient number of signatures to the secretary of state on December 4, 2019.[8]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mass.gov, "Current petitions filed," accessed August 6, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mass.gov, "Initiative 19-01 full text," accessed August 6, 2019
- ↑ Mass.gov, "Final summary for Initiative 19-01," accessed September 4, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ New Boston Post, "Roman Catholic Dioceses in Massachusetts To Allow Signature Gathering for Anti-Abortion-Funding Petition," published September 12, 2019
- ↑ Revised Policy Regarding Signature Drive Campaigns on Church Property, published September 10, 2019
- ↑ Guttmacher Institute, "State Funding of Abortion Under Medicaid," accessed August 6, 2019
- ↑ New Boston Post, "Massachusetts Anti-Abortion-Funding Drive Falls Short Again," December 3, 2019
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