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Voters in Kentucky have rejected a ballot initiative that would have denied constitutional protections for abortion in the state, the Associated Press reports.
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The amendment asked if voters wanted to amend the constitution to read: “To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”
With voters rejecting the amendment, abortion rights advocates have a chance to fight the state’s anti-abortion legislation in court.
As of Wednesday morning, Kentucky had voted 52% against the amendment with 86% of the polls in the state reporting.
On Twitter, the Kentucky branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wrote “The majority of Kentuckians made one thing clear: abortion is our right and politicians have no place in our private medical decisions.”
Kentucky’s Republican-led state legislature has imposed a near-total ban on abortion and on Tuesday night, voters reelected GOP Sen. Rand Paul who is anti-abortion.