Kansas voters Tuesday showed their support of an amendment in their state constitution that gives women the right to abortion. They voted to reject the attempt to remove the amendment. It was the first test of the right of the states to make their own decisions about women’s abortion rights since Roe v Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court.

Kentucky, California, Vermont and possibly Michigan will vote on abortion rights in the fall.

The election result prevents Republican members of the Kansas state legislature from passing extreme abortion restrictions, which would be in conflict with the state constitution, and would end up challenged in the courts.

Election Day in Kansas had a much higher turnout than was expected and 59% of voters chose to preserve abortion rights. 

The vote was a surprise in a conservative state, and gave the Democrats hope that the abortion issue will bring more voters into the Democratic Party and to the polls in November. 

No one was happier than President Biden, who said in a statement, “This vote makes clear what we know: The majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health care decisions.”