Ohio will become the latest state to enshrine reproductive rights in its state constitution, as projected CNN , continuing a trend favorable to abortion rights advocates since the repeal of Roe vs. Wade. Wade.
With the passage of the ballot measure enshrining the constitutional right to abortion, Ohio will be prevented from restricting access to abortion before fetal viability, which doctors believe occurs around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
After viability, the state can restrict access to abortion unless the patient’s life or health is at risk.
The vote is yet another sign that abortion access is a key issue for voters regardless of their party affiliations, even in a state like Ohio that has tilted Republican in recent elections.
It’s also a setback for state and national opponents of abortion, who had hoped their investment in odd-year elections would help turn the tide after losing half a dozen abortion-related initiatives in 2022.
At the center of the debate on the issue was Ohio’s six-week abortion ban, which was blocked by a court last year but is being considered by the state Supreme Court. Abortion rights advocates argued that the only way to stop the law, which has no exceptions for victims of rape or incest, was to pass the proposal.
On the other hand, abortion opponents argued that the measure went too far and would prevent the state from enacting a consensus bill with exceptions. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who signed the six-week law, campaigned heavily against the proposal and recorded an ad urging Ohioans to vote “no.”
In August, Ohio voters rejected a measure that would have raised the threshold for approving ballot initiatives to change the state constitution from a simple majority to 60%. The measure was seen as an attempt to block the abortion rights amendment, and its failure was interpreted as a sign that the fall amendment would pass.
According to the preliminary results of the CNN In Ohio, about 6 in 10 voters who turned out for Tuesday’s election expressed negative feelings toward the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Wade. About 3 in 10 said abortion should be legal in all cases, and about a third said it should be legal in most cases.
*CNN’s Ariel Edwards-Levy contributed to this story
Source: CNN Brasil
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