NASHVILLE (BP) — Arizona and Missouri are the latest states to put measures on the November ballot that would allow voters to enshrine abortion rights in their respective state constitutions, joining at least six other states with similar measures.

At least two states, Nebraska and Pennsylvania, have referendums pending to protect life.

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) is working with Southern Baptists in every state as the electoral landscape takes shape.

“As we look ahead to the November election, we see voters voting on numerous state abortion initiatives. Fortunately, some of these are aimed at solidifying protections for unborn children,” said Miles Mullin, ERLC executive vice president and chief of staff. “Tragically, many others seek to expand abortion, resulting in more deaths.”

“We know that many of our state conventions are already doing good work on the front lines of advancing pro-life policies. The ERLC stands ready to support our Southern Baptist churches by working with our Baptist state convention partners where initiatives are on the ballot,” Mullin said, “by providing resources that will educate and equip Baptists and others in the important effort to protect life.”

In Missouri, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft voted to add Amendment 3 to the Constitution on August 12. According to the initiative posted on Ashcroft’s official website, it would “establish the right to make decisions about reproductive health care, including abortion and contraception, and any government interference with that right is deemed void.”

Still, the Missouri ballot bill would allow for “a restriction or prohibition of abortions after fetal viability, except to protect the life or health of the woman,” the bill says. It would also repeal the state’s current abortion ban and protect recipients and providers of “reproductive health care” from government discrimination.

Arizona’s state initiative, Proposition 139, would enshrine a constitutional right to abortion until the fetus is viable, with exceptions thereafter to save the life and physical and mental health of the mother, according to the initiative posted on Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ website.

The initiative would also protect abortion providers from criminal prosecution.

In both states, fetal viability is the point at which a doctor determines that the child can survive outside the womb without extraordinary medical intervention.

In Arizona, Missouri, Florida, Colorado, South Dakota, New York, Maryland and Nevada, there are ballot measures that give voters the opportunity to expand or establish abortion rights.

ERLC tracks the national right to life voting landscape; the latest updates appear every Friday.

The ERLC tracker is available here and contains details on ballot initiatives and upcoming votes.

(Editor’s note — Diana Chandler is the executive editor of the Baptist Press.)