Comment Voters across the country scored a series of decisive victories for abortion rights on Tuesday in the first statewide election since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. The biggest surprise came in Republican-leaning Kentucky, where an anti-abortion amendment was rejected, opening a possible path to restoring abortion access in a state with one of the nation’s most restrictive bans. In Michigan, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) was re-elected in part by portraying herself as a defender of abortion rights, voters approved a ballot initiative that would have enshrined the right to abortion in the state constitution — preventing the implementation of the abortion ban in 1931. On Nov. 9, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) made remarks after being re-elected as governor. (Video: The Washington Post) And in North Carolina, Republicans failed to win a veto-proof legislative supermajority, ensuring that Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper will continue to have the power to block abortion restrictions in a state that has become a critical access point for people seeking abortions throughout Southeast Europe. Monitoring outcomes where abortion access hangs in the balance The string of abortion rights victories confirmed a political trend that emerged in August, two months after the fall of Roe, when voters in conservative Kansas rejected an anti-abortion amendment similar to the one defeated in Kentucky. The results showed how even as GOP lawmakers have seized the moment to enact more restrictions, most of the public sees the issue differently — with about 6 in 10 midterm voters saying abortion should be legal in all or in most cases, according to exit polls. Network exit polls also found that nearly 3 in 10 voters nationally said abortion was the most important issue on their ballot, and that about 4 in 10 voters nationally said they were “angry” that Roe overturned. A “unifying message” emerged from the 2022 midterm elections, said Tamarra Wieder, state director for Kentucky Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates: “Abortion crosses party lines.” Activists on both sides of the issue have been closely watching a handful of important state-level contests where the future of abortion access continues to hang in the balance. Several gubernatorial contests have been seen as swings for abortion rights, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where Democrats Josh Shapiro and Tony Evers emerged victorious, as well as Arizona, where the contest is still too close to be called. In Michigan, nearly half of voters said abortion was the most important issue for their vote, according to exit polls, ranking well above inflation as the most important. Abortion was also the top polling concern for Pennsylvania voters, with more than a third of voters choosing abortion as their top issue, according to exit polls. Voters in solidly Democratic states also voted on abortion on Tuesday, with California and Vermont passing an amendment that would explicitly protect abortion rights in their state constitutions. Arizona court halts enforcement of nearly total abortion ban In Kentucky, many Republican voters appeared to vote in favor of abortion rights, even as they duly re-elected one of the Senate’s most conservative members, Sen. Rand Paul. Kentucky’s referendum would have amended the state constitution to clarify that it does not protect the right to an abortion, effectively making it impossible to challenge anti-abortion laws in court. Abortion has been almost entirely illegal in Kentucky since the summer. To resume abortions, abortion rights advocates I will must secure an additional victory next week, when Kentucky’s highest court has a chance to decide whether the state constitution protects abortion rights. Kentucky judge reinstates state abortion ban, overturns lower court Dawn Riley, a 55-year-old Independent and agricultural consultant in Kentucky, said the anti-abortion amendment was “a leap too far” for many. “I really feel that ultimately people don’t want this invasion of their privacy,” said Riley, who worked for Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) in the late 1980s. and of granddaughters who have fewer rights than their mothers will resonate. Moving forward and not turning back the clock is a big part of the message.” During the campaign, Wieder, of Kentucky Planned Parenthood, said her group often encountered Republican voters who planned to cross party lines on the amendment. Many voters expressed concern about women being denied health care across the country due to recent abortion bans, he added. “That issue really resonated with them,” Wieder said. The playbook developed by the abortion rights movement in Kentucky mirrors what proved successful in Kansas this summer. Protect Kentucky Access, the group of abortion rights groups working to defeat the amendment, hired the same campaign manager who led the Kansas effort and rolled out some of the same messages they believed worked in Kansas — that Americans they should be free to make health care decisions without government involvement. How Kansas Became an Abortion Rights Enclave Protect Kentucky Access has sought to broaden its supporter base, trying to appeal to both traditional abortion-rights advocates and small-government advocates who may be wary of government overreach. The anti-abortion camp, “Yes For Life,” focused on activating Kentucky’s large anti-abortion electorate. According to the Pew Research Center’s 2014 Religious Landscape Study, 57 percent of Kentuckians believed abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, making Kentucky one of the most anti-abortion states in the country. On the finer points of the message, groups on each side of the Kentucky referendum blasted their opponents with what they argued were misleading messages. Titus Folks, a 28-year-old anti-abortion activist who worked in Kentucky with Students for Life, blamed “misinformation” for the amendment’s failure, accusing abortion rights advocates of mischaracterizing the ballot initiative in their campaign. “We’ve gotten very confused about what these ballot initiatives mean and do,” he said. “It’s hard for people to understand.” The people said he felt confident that public opinion would “stabilize” on abortion over the next year, with people eventually becoming more supportive of anti-abortion measures. Michigan’s abortion ballot measure will go to voters in November Several Michigan voters, including those who do not identify with a political party, said they voted in favor of the measure so politicians would have no say in whether a woman can seek an abortion. Vreni Merrell-Myers, 22, and her father, Kirby Merrell, went door-to-door Monday night in Royal Oak, Mich., the first time the couple had canvassed. Merrell-Myers said it was “scary” to think a doctor could lose his medical license for trying to help her access basic health care. “Read your vote,” Kirby Merrell responded, referring to a phrase abortion rights advocates have used to rally their base to defeat anti-abortion candidates. Kim Bellware reported from Louisville. Rachel Roubein reported from Detroit. Emily Guskin contributed to this report.
