Voters in Virginia and Nevada approved constitutional amendments protecting abortion rights on Tuesday, according to projections by the Associated Press. The results made Virginia the first Southern state to write reproductive freedom into its constitution. In Missouri, ballots were still being counted on a measure to undo abortion protections approved two years ago.

The Virginia amendment reached the ballot after the Democratic-controlled General Assembly passed it in two consecutive sessions, as the state constitution requires. It guarantees a right to make decisions about pregnancy, contraception and abortion. Nevada's Question 6 needed a second statewide approval after voters first backed it in 2024 with roughly 64 per cent support.

The Missouri measure, placed on the ballot by the Republican-led legislature, would repeal the abortion-rights amendment voters narrowly approved in 2024. It would restore a near-total ban with limited exceptions. Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, which resumed abortion services in the state after the 2024 vote, campaigned heavily against it.

Abortion-rights groups described the Virginia and Nevada results as evidence that support for access has held firm since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022. Reproductive Freedom for All, the national advocacy group, said the outcomes showed abortion remained a mobilising issue in a midterm dominated by the economy. Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America said it would keep pressing for restrictions through state legislatures.

The votes were held alongside midterm contests that will decide control of Congress and dozens of governorships. Health policy researchers at KFF have noted that more than a dozen states have now put abortion rights directly to voters since 2022. Abortion-rights supporters have won the large majority of those contests.