Since the historic Supreme Court ruling, sovereignty over abortion rights has returned to the states. Conservative Ohio now also enshrines the right to a referendum in the constitution.
In the US state of Ohio, the right to abortion is enshrined in the constitution. As television stations reported several hours after the polls closed on Tuesday (local time), around 55 percent voted for the constitutional change.
In the future, the right to abortion in Ohio will be constitutionally protected until the fetus is viable, i.e. up to approximately 24 weeks of pregnancy – and beyond if the mother’s life is at risk. More restrictive legislative proposals in the state will be eliminated with the constitutional amendment.
Supreme Court provides patchwork
The Supreme Court in the USA ruled in June 2022 that no nationwide right to abortion can be derived from the Constitution. The liberal landmark ruling “Roe v. Wade,” which was valid for decades, was overturned.
Since then, responsibility for the relevant laws has once again fallen to the individual states. A legal patchwork emerged in the individual states – in many places strict restrictions came into force. Abortion is effectively banned in 14 states.
Previously, abortion was legal in Ohio until the unborn child was viable outside the womb. However, the state legislature decided in 2019 to ban abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy. The law has not yet taken effect because of court challenges, which is expected to remain so after Tuesday’s vote.
Biden: “Democracy has won”
US President Joe Biden immediately welcomed the result of the vote. “Democracy has triumphed,” he declared. Ohioans voted to protect their basic freedoms and resisted Republican politicians who wanted to “impose extreme abortion bans” on women. Republican plans to make access to abortion more difficult are “extreme and dangerous.” His government continues to push for a federal law to protect women’s rights “once and for all.”
Ohio is considered to be rather conservative when it comes to social issues. The state is governed by Republicans; in the 2020 presidential election, then US President Donald Trump won there with 53.3 percent of the vote against Democrat Biden.
A controversial topic across the country
Abortion rights are one of the most controversial sociopolitical issues in the United States. Polls show a majority of people in the US support limited abortion rights. Since the Supreme Court ruling, voters in the states of Kansas, Vermont, California, Kentucky and Michigan have also voted in referendums to protect the right to abortion. Referendums for 2024 are being prepared in several states.
The issue is also likely to be an important campaign issue in next year’s congressional and presidential elections. The Democrats hope to be able to mobilize voters through this.
Another individual result on US election day was at least a small victory for the Democrats: In the conservative US state of Kentucky, Democrat Andy Beshear was able to defend the governorship.
However, the latest survey results are extremely problematic for Biden. In a direct comparison with Donald Trump, Biden is currently significantly behind in many swing states, important swing voter states.
With information from Ralf Borchard, ARD Studio Washington