Ohio voters approved a ballot measure on Tuesday that will enshrine abortion as a right in the state constitution, marking a significant loss for conservatives and pro-life organizations.

More than 56% of voters cast their ballots in favor of Issue 1, which will establish a state constitutional right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to" decisions about abortion, contraception, and fertility treatments. Some 43% of voters cast their ballots against Issue 1; turnout among Republicans was especially low relative to the 2020 election cycle, when former President Donald Trump safely won the swing state.

The measure will let the state restrict abortion after “fetal viability” at approximately twenty-three weeks gestation, but disallow a ban if “in the professional judgment of the pregnant patient’s treating physician” the abortion is “necessary to protect the pregnant patient’s life or health.”

End Abortion Ohio, which opposes abortion from a distinctively Christian standpoint, said in a statement about the approval of Issue 1 that the measure is an “unconstitutional perversion.”

“Any recourse which tolerates or upholds the legal murder of preborn image bearers of God, must be rejected, and spurned as unconstitutional and iniquitous,” they said. “The securing of justice for all persons is the duty of all our governing authorities before God.”

Conservatives, who witnessed additional off-year election losses in states such as Kentucky and Virginia, clashed on social media about the strategy and messaging of the pro-life movement. Video of abortion activists celebrating their victory with loud cheers meanwhile went viral.

The White House also lauded the passage of Issue 1 with a statement from Vice President Kamala Harris. “Voters turned out to safeguard reproductive rights and prevent extremists from enforcing an abortion ban that would harm women and criminalize doctors,” she said.

Current abortion laws in Ohio regulate the lethal procedure after twenty-two weeks gestation; a six-week regulation previously greenlit by Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine entered into force last year after the overturn of Roe v. Wade but was later placed on hold by a judge. Ohio law also exempts pregnant women from prosecution related to violations of state abortion law, even if the women willfully decide to murder their preborn children.

Organizations in the pro-life movement created an entity called Protect Women Ohio to lead the public campaign against the ballot measure: communications from the group had emphasized the radical nature of legalizing late-term abortions, as well as the assertion that the measure constitutes “an all-out assault on parental rights.” Entities such as Ohio Right to Life and the Center for Christian Virtue have meanwhile lobbied against a bill from End Abortion Ohio called the Abolition of Abortion in Ohio Act, which would criminalize abortion for all parties involved.