Issue 1 supporters celebrate at a watch party, Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment that guarantees the right to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care. The outcome of Tuesday’s intense, off-year election was the latest blow for abortion opponents.
Sue Ogrocki/AP
In a handful of states with off-year elections, abortion access appeared to be a winning issue for the second general election in a row, even more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Red state pushback
In what became one of the most closely watched campaigns of the year, Ohio voters approved a ballot initiative putting protections for reproductive health decisions in the state constitution, including abortion at least until fetal viability.
Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, which advocates for ballot measures to advance progressive policies, said the amendment’s passage represents voters in a red state — with a Republican governor and legislature — passing abortion protections.
“Ohio is the first state that I really think we can put in that red column that has said, ‘We can go on offense, and we can win,’” Hall says. “And that is an inspiring example that shines a light on the path for other red states.”
Last year, months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned decades of abortion rights precedent, abortion rights advocates were victorious in six states where abortion-related questions were on the ballot. In 2022, Hall noted, voters in blue states like California and Michigan largely shored up protections, while those in red states like Kansas and Kentucky
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