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Kentucky voters reject amendment that would have affirmed no right to abortion

Published November 9, 2022 at 9:37 AM EST

A child sits next to Yes on 2 signs during a rally encouraging voters to vote yes on Amendment 2, which would add a permanent abortion ban to Kentuckys state constitution, on the steps of the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky, on October 1, 2022. - Since the Supreme Court in June overturned the constitutional right to abortion, restoring states' ability to ban the procedure, the issue has become a major ballot question. Only four states have decided to hold referendums exclusively on abortion, decoupling the issue from platforms and political parties, and opening the door to citizens who are not very political to get involved in what is, for them, a matter of "values." (Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky voters have rejected adding language to the state constitution that would make it harder to challenge abortion restrictions in the state, according to a call by The Associated Press.

Amendment 2 would have added this to the state's foundational document: "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."

It would have left the question of access to abortion to the state's Republican-controlled legislature and prevented courts from using the constitution to interpret a right to abortion.

Two groups — Protect Kentucky Access and Yes for Life — campaigned for months ahead of the election, urging voters to cast ballots on either side of the issue.

The ballot initiative's failure doesn't necessarily mean access is protected in the state.

Abortions have been banned in most cases in the state for months, after the Kentucky Court of Appeals lifted an injunction blocking two laws.

Kentucky was one of more than a dozen states with trigger laws on the books set to go into effect when the United States Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade in June.

Kentucky's trigger ban, which outlaws abortion in all but life-threatening cases after around six weeks of pregnancy, was previously blocked in state court. However, Kentucky's Supreme Court allowed the two laws to remain in place while legal challenges continue. The state's high court is expected to hear oral arguments on a challenge to the laws' constitutionality on Nov. 12.