Those who oppose abortion have proposed amending the state Constitution.
PHOTO: BeezFu.com
Even though abortion remains prohibited in Kentucky, it is an important victory for abortion rights defenders after the Supreme Court’s historic decision.
In June, the high court gave up guaranteeing women’s right to terminate pregnancy that had been guaranteed for almost half a century, giving each state the freedom to decide on the matter.
The state of Kentucky, where the Republicans have a solid majority, immediately passed a law banning voluntary terminations of pregnancy in its territory. Several organizations have referred the law to invalidate this law.
To block these appeals, abortion opponents proposed amending the state Constitution to state that it “does not protect” the right to abortion and put those changes to a vote on Tuesday’s midterm elections.
If the voters had accepted this, there would have been an end to legal appeals and the law in force, which does not provide for exceptions in case of rape or incest, would have been unassailable.
But 52% of voters rejected this hypothesis. “It is an important victory that sets the benchmarks for future progress,” noted the Guttmacher Institute, which defends the right to abortion and contraception in the world.
This vote is part of a series of victories for abortion rights defenders who also won referendums in the Democratic-majority states of California, Vermont and Michigan.
