- By Holly Honderich in Washington & Sarah Smith in Ohio
- BBC News
Image source, Getty Images
There were emotional celebrations from pro-choice campaigners as US media projected the measure would pass
Ohio voted to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution on Tuesday, marking a major victory for pro-choice campaigners.
The BBC’s US partner CBS News and other media projected a convincing victory.
Early returns showed almost 58% of voters in the conservative-leaning state had backed the measure.
Its projected success is likely to bolster Democrats’ hopes that abortion rights remain a winning issue ahead of elections in 2024.
It would also extend an unbroken record for ballot measures designed to protect abortion rights since the nationwide right to the procedure was rescinded last year. All seven have returned wins for pro-choice activists.
But Ohio’s measure, known as Issue 1, was widely seen as the toughest fight so far for abortion rights supporters as it was the first Republican-led state to consider changing its constitution to explicitly guarantee the right.
Supporters of the amendment warned voters that unless it passed, more restrictive laws could be introduced including a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions.
Those who campaigned against it, however, argued that it would allow late term abortions that are currently illegal.
As votes were still being counted, there were emotional celebrations from pro-choice supporters as US media projected it would pass.
“This is one of the greatest moments of my life, working so hard with my team beside me to achieve reproductive rights and freedoms in Ohio,” Kate Gillie told the BBC at one watch party.
Image source, Getty Images
Residents line up to cast their ballots during early voting in Columbus
The amendment will change the state’s constitution to include protections for abortion access.
It will establish “an individual right to one’s own reproductive medical treatment,” including on abortion, contraception and miscarriage care.
It explicitly prohibits the state from “directly or indirectly burdening, penalising or prohibiting abortion” before viability, generally considered to be around 23 weeks of pregnancy.
Similar to the standard set by Roe v Wade, the amendment allows the state to bar abortion after the point of viability except in instances where the patient’s doctor determines the procedure is needed to protect life or health.
Opponents of the measure have expressed concern over this element, telling voters it would allow for “late term abortions” – a non-medical term referring to abortions later in pregnancy.
But supporters of Issue 1 argued that any abortions later in pregnancy would require sign-off from a medical professional attesting to serious health concerns.
Abortion is currently legal in Ohio until 22 weeks of pregnancy.
But abortion rights supporters say that if Issue 1 had failed, the path would have been cleared for a six-week ban which is currently on hold pending review by Ohio’s conservative Supreme Court.
The result in Ohio also offers clues about voters’ views on abortion more than a year after Roe was overturned.
“If the ballot initiative passes really easily it will confirm that voters are still mad,” said Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis, and a leading expert on the US abortion debate, before polls closed. “But it won’t confirm abortion is a priority issue for them, that’s a different question.”
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Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
