Abortion Ballot Fights Revive Mental Health Exception Debates

State fights over abortion rights ballot measures are spurring debates over mental health in pregnancy and whether an individual’s psychological condition can be used to justify abortion care.

Abortion will be on the ballot this fall in at least eight states, with work still underway in three others for inclusion in November.

The proposed measures in Arizona and Missouri would permit abortions before fetal viability, or roughly 24 weeks, and afterward in situations where a health-care professional determines it’s necessary to “protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant” person. Other ballot measures would ensure access after ...