THEIR BALLOT, THEIR CHOICE

Kentuckians Just Voted to Protect Abortion Rights

Voters rejected a ballot measure that sought to remove constitutional protections for abortion, months after a trigger law banned the procedure in the red state.

Kentucky voters narrowly rejected an anti-abortion ballot measure that aimed to deny any constitutional protections to abortion in the state, representing a continued nationwide disconnect between voters and Republican legislatures who have moved to pass abortion bans. Kentucky follows fellow red state Kansas, which rejected a ballot measure earlier this year that would have stripped the state’s constitution of abortion rights. The measure’s rejection doesn’t restore abortion rights to the deep red state after a trigger law, enacted when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, banned nearly all abortions. But as the Kentucky Supreme Court gears up to hear a challenge on the strict ban next week, Tuesday’s vote keeps the state’s abortions rights activists in the game. The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled in June that the ban will stay in place while it’s under judicial review.