Abortion rights advocates are trying to get initiatives to protect reproductive health on the ballot in several states this year. And one major difference has emerged in their proposed language: whether to include mental health as an exception. A Missouri proposal would allow lawmakers to restrict abortions after a fetus is considered viable, except if an abortion “is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.” A similar measure has been proposed in Arizona, but proposals in Florida, Montana and Nebraska do not explicitly mention mental health. The CDC says mental health conditions were the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths from 2017 to 2019.
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Abortion rights advocates are trying to get initiatives to protect reproductive health on the ballot in several states this year. And one major difference has emerged in their proposed language: whether to include mental health as an exception. A Missouri proposal would allow lawmakers to restrict abortions after a fetus is considered viable, except if an abortion “is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.” A similar measure has been proposed in Arizona, but proposals in Florida, Montana and Nebraska do not explicitly mention mental health. The CDC says mental health conditions were the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths from 2017 to 2019.
Abortion rights advocates are trying to get initiatives to protect reproductive health on the ballot in several states this year. And one major difference has emerged in their proposed language: whether to include mental health as an exception. A Missouri proposal would allow lawmakers to restrict abortions after a fetus is considered viable, except if an abortion “is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.” A similar measure has been proposed in Arizona, but proposals in Florida, Montana and Nebraska do not explicitly mention mental health. The CDC says mental health conditions were the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths from 2017 to 2019.
Most states with abortion limits include exemptions for life-threatening emergencies, but only one state includes “serious mental illness” that could result in the death of the mother or fetus. It's not Florida.