Abortion rights win big in 2023 elections, again

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
.
In what became one of the most closely watched campaigns of the year, Ohio voters
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
where abortion-related questions were on the ballot. In 2022, Hall noted, voters in
like California and Michigan largely shored up protections, while those in red states like Kansas and Kentucky
to restrict the procedure.
The passage of Issue 1 means that a state law banning most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy will not be able to
in Ohio.
The
followed a special election in August, when Republican lawmakers put a question on the ballot — also called Issue 1 — that would have made it more difficult to amend the state constitution. Ohio voters turned out in larger-than-expected numbers to reject that proposal.
Virginia Democrats managed to hold off Republican control of the state legislature.
Abortion wasn’t directly on the ballot in Virginia as it was in Ohio. But the issue was front and center in the campaign.
With the entire legislature up for reelection, Democrats managed to
while maintaining control of the state Senate — an important goal for abortion rights supporters in a state with a divided legislature and a Republican governor.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin
a proposal to ban most abortions after 15 weeks, with some exceptions, and heavily campaigned with Republicans to try to win a trifecta government in Richmond, Va.
As it is, Virginia is the only state in the South that has not restricted abortion in response to the Supreme Court decision last year. Currently, abortion is legal until 26 weeks and six days of pregnancy. With incoming majorities in both chambers, that law seems poised to remain intact.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat,
after facing a challenge from the state’s Republican attorney general, Daniel Cameron, who opposes abortion rights and has defended Kentucky’s strict abortion laws in court.
Beshear’s campaign
in which a young woman talked about her experience as a victim of rape by a family member at age 12. She pointed out that Kentucky’s abortion law contains no rape or incest exceptions, saying, “Anyone who believes there should be no exceptions for rape and incest could never understand what it’s like to stand in my shoes.”
Cameron eventually
of rape and incest exceptions, but still lost the election.
Last year, in another likely sign that the state’s abortion laws are out of step with public opinion, Kentucky voters
seen as unfriendly to abortion rights.
In Mississippi, meanwhile, the incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves also
. His Democratic challenger was a
who
abortion rights.
With the fight over abortion policy increasingly playing out in state legislatures and courts, abortion rights advocates have been paying closer attention to state Supreme Court races.
This year,
, Democrat Dan McCaffery
on the state Supreme Court after Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union invested in digital ads backing McCaffery over Republican Carolyn Carluccio. The state has a Democratic governor, but groups supporting abortion rights say they want to shore up access for the future.
Abortion also was a focal point in the race
for a high court seat in Wisconsin, where the liberal candidate won.