Ohio Votes to Protect Abortion Access

Voters approve constitutional amendment enshrining abortion rights
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 7, 2023 8:14 PM CST
Ohio Votes to Enshrine Abortion Rights
Poll workers assist voters on Election Day at Chesapeake Elementary School on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in Chesapeake, Ohio.   (Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch via AP)

It looks like Ohio will indeed enshrine abortion protections into its state constitution. The AP reports that the constitutional amendment protecting abortion access in the state was passed by voters on Tuesday. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, a 2019 law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy took effect and a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was three days beyond that cutoff point was forced to cross state lines to have the procedure done. Currently, that six-week ban is on hold, and abortion is legal in Ohio up to 22 weeks gestation, the Hill reports.

In August, in what was largely seen as a move to restrict abortion, Republicans attempted to pass a ballot measure that would have made it more challenging for future constitutional amendments (and, thus, the abortion rights amendment that ended up passing Tuesday) to be passed in the state. Voters, however, roundly rejected that proposal in a special election. Exit polling on Tuesday showed voters in the state largely favor legal abortion, CNN reports. While other states have enshrined abortion rights into their constitutions, the Hill points out that the Ohio vote marks the first time such protections have passed "in a state that's trended increasingly red in recent years." (More Ohio stories.)

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