Voters pass abortion rights amendment in Ohaio

Polls were open today in at least 37 states, and Americans have been casting their votes on everything from governorships to local referenda. 538 analysts will be here throughout the evening to bring you live updates and analysis from races across the country.

Mississippi; state-legislative contests in Virginia, New Jersey and Mississippi; a Supreme Court contest in Pennsylvania; and a handful of congressional and state-legislative special elections.

"Ohioans and voters across the country rejected attempts by MAGA Republican elected officials to impose extreme abortion bans that put the health and lives of women in jeopardy, force women to travel hundreds of miles for care, and threaten to criminalize doctors and nurses for providing the health care that their patients need and that they are trained to provide," Biden said in a statement Tuesday night.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris issued statements celebrating the amendment's win, emphasizing that attempts to ban or severely restrict abortion represent a minority view across the country. Harris hinted at how the issue would likely be central to Democrats' campaigning next year for Congress and the presidency, saying “extremists are pushing for a national abortion ban that would criminalize reproductive health care in every single state in our nation.”

Ohio’s constitutional amendment, on the ballot as Issue 1, included some of the most protective language for abortion access of any statewide ballot initiative since the Supreme Court’s ruling. Opponents had argued that the amendment would threaten parental rights, allow unrestricted gender surgeries for minors and revive “partial birth” abortions, which are federally banned.

Ohio Statehouse, to eliminate these laws. That’s because Ohio's GOP-controlled Legislature has not expressed any interest in expanding access to abortion.

Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens promised Tuesday night to push back against the new constitutional amendment: "The legislature has multiple paths that we will explore to continue to protect innocent life. This is not the end of the conversation."

Read more

Sarah H

Also on site :

• Buffalo woman buys $400 Coach bag. It turns into one of the most uncomfortable shopping experiences in her life: ‘The associates have no compassion’ 
• Why New Year’s resolutions might feel harder this year – especially for young people
• George Clooney takes aim at Trump after NYE rant by using president’s mantra against him