Results of the abortion elections: Alabama and West Virginia vote against protection and funding

Two states voted on Tuesday to add anti-abortion language to their constitution, which some opponents see as a preparation for the eventual overthrow of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court of the United States.

Electors from Alabama and West Virginia approved the state voting measures which dealt with the issue of abortion and sought to prohibit public funding of the procedure by Medicaid. Both measures indicated that the constitution of their state did not protect a woman 's right to abortion and that their state would not fund the procedure, except in the case of rape, incest and sexual abuse. medical emergency, as required by federal law.

"This fundamentally opens the way for the ban on abortion in all cases," said Shante Wolfe-Sisson, campaign manager for Alabama for Healthy Families, in an interview Wednesday at CBS News. "In practice, it will be enshrined in the constitution of Alabama as law in effect, so that in the event that Roe v. Wade is overthrown, it will automatically become law."

In Alabama, voters agreed to amend the state constitution to include in its policy the protection of the "sanctity of life to be born and the rights of unborn children, including the right to life" and his official position on abortion was "to ensure the protection of children". the rights of the unborn child in all legal and appropriate ways and measures. "Wolfe-Sisson says that these changes would effectively make termination of pregnancy proceedings illegal if Roe v. Wade was overthrown. Mike Fridy of the State of Alabama, who sponsored the amendment, did not immediately return an appeal or an e-mail requesting comments.

In 1973, the Supreme Court decision in the case Roe v. Wade prohibited states from banning abortions before viability of the fetus, thereby guaranteeing a woman's right to access the procedure in the United States. In recent years, several states have adopted measures such as waiting times and restrictions. clinics that actually reduce access to abortion without explicitly banning it.

However, with a Republican White House and Supreme Court increasingly conservative, some think that the days of Roe v. Wade could be counted. In a 2016 presidential debate, the then-candidate, Donald Trump, had stated that he expected the decision to be rescinded when he was elected, as he was considering appointing pro-life judges. He again emphasized the issue in a speech before the mid-term elections of 2018.

Until now, the Supreme Court has not agreed to hear a direct challenge from Roe. But if it does so eventually, and if a majority of judges vote to overturn this precedent, it would be up to each state to decide whether to limit or prohibit abortion within their jurisdiction. borders. Measures such as those in Alabama and West Virginia are essentially preventative, said Wolfe-Sisson; in the case where Roe v. Wade is dismantled, abortion will automatically become illegal in Alabama.

Residents of western West Virginia voted for language claiming that the state's constitution does not "secure or protect" a woman's right to abortion. The electoral measure also banned the use of Medicaid dollars for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest and endangering life, said Patricia Puertas Rucker, Senator of the United States. Republican State in West Virginia and main sponsor of the amendment.

"I think it's something that people who have a conscious objection should not have to pay," Rucker told CBS News. Medicaid is funded jointly by the states and the federal government. Federal law does not authorize states to prohibit funding by Medicaid of abortions in the event of rape, incest or danger to the mother's life.

In a written statement, Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, called the state's latest efforts "an unprecedented attempt to insert politics into health care."

West Virginia currently has laws criminalizing abortion, providing for a prison term of three to ten years imprisonment for the execution or receipt of the proceedings. However, the laws are not in force because federal and state courts have ruled the state code unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, in Oregon, voters took Tuesday in opposite directions, rejecting a proposal that would reduce state insurance funding for low-income women seeking abortions.