American pro-choice groups Wednesday secured a major victory in a referendum to protect abortion rights in the conservative US state of Kansas.
BBC reports that voters overwhelmingly said they did not wish to amend the state constitution to assert there is no right to abortion.
The Newspaper also said it was the first electoral test of the issue since the US Supreme Court allowed states to ban the procedure.
If the ballot had gone the other way, lawmakers could have moved to further restrict or ban abortion in Kansas.
The ballot question in Kansas had been hotly anticipated since the US Supreme Court two months ago overturned Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalised abortion nationwide.
Projections suggest Kansans voted by more than 60% to uphold the state’s constitutional right for women to access abortion.
It’s just a projection for now, and the official result will be confirmed in a week.
When Roe v Wade was overturned, President Joe Biden said abortion rights would be an issue for the voters. What’s happened in Kansas has turned that theory into evidence.
The referendum result is being seen as a landslide, in a state that Republican former-President Donald Trump won by 15 points just two years ago.
For Democrats and pro-choice groups, according to BBC, this is a sign that Americans are deeply unhappy with abortion rights being overturned – and see the Supreme Court’s decision as out of step with the public.