Alabama voters are projected to pass a ballot measure that enshrines in the state constitution a ban on abortion in case the Supreme Court overturns the constitutional right to an abortion.
The state is expected to pass on Tuesday a constitutional amendment that effectively bans any right to an abortion or funding for abortions. Anti-abortion advocates have prodded states to rewrite abortion laws to in the hopes that the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that made abortion a constitutional right.
The Associated Press projects that 60 percent of Alabama voters support the ballot measure, opposed to nearly 40 percent, with 75 percent of precincts reporting in.
If the court, which added conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh last month, were to strike down Roe, then the issue of abortion legality would go to the states. Several red states have pursued amendments to their constitutions so that they will immediately outlaw abortion if Roe is overturned.
Alabama already also bans state funding for abortions except in cases to save the life of the mother, rape, or incest.
The state is one of 32 to prohibit state funding, which would affect the state’s Medicaid program and public employees such as teachers or police officers.
Alabama also has bans on partial-birth abortions and prohibits abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
