UPDATE: Vermont voters have overwhelmingly moved to approve Proposal 5—making it the first state to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution. More:
Protesters hold up signs advocating for abortion access during a reproductive rights rally in front of the Statehouse in Montpelier in May. File photo by Natalie Williams/VTDiggerWith more than 245,000 votes counted, ‘yes’ votes for Proposal 5 outnumbered ‘no’ votes by a margin of 72%-22%, according to a preliminary vote count released by the Secretary of State’s Office at 11:10 p.m. Tuesday. Roughly 5% left the question blank.
“Vermonters support reproductive freedom in all four corners of the state,” the committee said, “and they believe that our reproductive decisions are ours to make without interference from politicians.” “We could export inspiration to the rest of the nation by winning in Vermont,” Leriche said in a speech at an event in Burlington Tuesday night celebrating the amendment’s passage. “And here we are.”
Vermont’s founding document will now be appended with a 22nd article, which will read in full: “That an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course and shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”
“We knew it was an uphill battle to actually be able to successfully share the truth of what the ramifications of this amendment would be,” she said. “I still believe that if Vermonters really understood the implications, they would not have supported it.” “So many of you stepped up and knocked on doors and went to rallies and contributed and talked to your neighbors and made sure that people were not bamboozled by the ridiculous falsehoods we heard,” Lezak said. “And this just makes me very, very proud of all of us.”
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