Ohio backs introduction of right to abortion in constitution

Voters in the US state of Ohio have backed the introduction of a right to an abortion in its constitution.

In another election on Tuesday, the Democratic governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear – who had also supported abortion rights in his campaign – was comfortably returned for another term in the strongly Republican state.

Elsewhere, in Mississippi, Democratic candidate for governor Brandon Presley – a second cousin of Elvis Presley – last night trailed incumbent Republican Tate Reeves, and he conceded to Mr Reeves.

In a referendum in Ohio, voters approved an amendment that would establish in the state’s constitution an “individual right to one’s own reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion”.

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The measure was passed by 55.5 per cent to 45.5 per cent.

Voters in Ohio had in August defeated proposals that would have raised the bar to 60 per cent for a constitutional amendment to be passed.

The vote in Ohio appeared to suggest that abortion rights continues to be a powerful political issue in the aftermath of the decision of the US supreme court last year to eliminate the constitutional right for a woman to have a termination.

The Democratic Party of US president Joe Biden has campaigned strongly on the issue of defending abortion rights in elections held following the supreme court ruling.

In a statement on Tuesday night following the abortion vote result in Ohio, Mr Biden said that Americans had once again voted to protect their fundamental freedoms.

“In Ohio, voters protected access to reproductive health in their state constitution.”

He said that Ohioans and voters across the country had rejected attempts by Republican politicians aligned to Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again (Maga) movement “to impose extreme abortion bans that put the health and lives of women in jeopardy, force women to travel hundreds of miles for care, and threaten to criminalise doctors and nurses for providing the healthcare that their patients need and that they are trained to provide”.

“This extreme and dangerous agenda is out of step with the vast majority of Americans,” he said.

Ohio is the seventh state in the US where voters have backed moves to protect access to abortion in statewide initiatives since the landmark Roe v Wade ruling was overturned by the US supreme court last year.

The issue is likely to be on the ballot in other states next year at the time of the presidential election.

In other results in what is known as the off-year election – outside of the cycle of elections to the US Congress every two years – Democrats retained control of the 40-person state senate in Virginia.

Democrats maintained their majority in the state senate and flipped control of the house of delegates, where Republicans previously held a narrow advantage.

Democrats’ victories deprived Republican governor Glenn Youngkin of the opportunity of enacting a 15-week abortion ban and cast doubt on his prospects as a potential presidential candidate.

Separately in Ohio, proposals on the ballot to legalise marijuana for recreational use was also projected to pass.