With the passage of Issue 1, Ohio voters instilled irreversible access to abortion care in the state’s constitution, NPR reported Nov. 8.
The measure passed 56.62% in favor and 43.38% opposed. It was dubbed “the country’s most-watched race in the off-year elections,” by The New York Times.
Ohio’s new law will take effect 30 days after the election.
While not on the ballot as a measure in other states, key supporters of abortion access who were on the ballot also saw success.
In Virginia — the sole southern state that has not restricted abortion access since Roe’s reversal — Democrats maintained control of the state legislature.
Kentucky’s democratic governor, Andy Beshear, also kept his seat. Last year, voters in the state shot down a measure to amend the state constitution that “explicitly stated it contains no right to an abortion,” NPR reported in November 2022.
