Voters in the US state of Kansas overwhelmingly rejected on Tuesday an amendment to remove the state Constitution’s abortion benefit from legislation. The victory of the pro-abortion movement is significant, because it is the first after the United States Supreme Court canceled in June verdict of Roe v. Wade and left it to the states to decide on the regulation of abortion.

Kansas, which has a conservative majority but is currently led by Democrat Laura Kelly, echoes the stance of Democrats and President Joe Biden, who criticized the Supreme Court ruling and tried to find ways to ensure abortion. The referendum result could also carry weight in the November legislative elections.

Political analysts were already taking the amendment for granted, as Republican Party supporters tend to show up in larger numbers in state primaries in the United States, where voting is not mandatory. However, turnout from other voters was higher than expected.

With 98% of the votes counted, 59% of voters voted to maintain abortion, against nearly 41% who supported the amendment entitled Value Them Both. The result still prevents state lawmakers – mostly Republicans – from approving restrictions on what is already in law in Kansas, which has become one of the main places for access to the practice in the American Midwest.

Residents of Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and other states where abortion was banned after the Supreme Court ruling flocked to Kansas to undergo the procedure. A clinic in Wichita reported that 60% of patients came from other areas. Many companies they also decided to sponsor employee trips to abort in states where the practice is still permitted.

The Kansas vote was the first of several elections to be held this year in the United States. The states of California, Kentucky, Vermont and, likely, Michigan are expected to include the issue in their votes in the coming months.

The American President, Joe Bidensaid the referendum result showed that “a majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion”.

Spokeswoman for an anti-abortion group called Pro-Life America Susan B. Anthony, Mallory Carroll, called the amendment’s defeat a “great disappointment” and slammed abortion advocates for stifling the “truth” with “lies”.

“Tonight’s loss is a huge disappointment to pro-life Canadians and Americans across the country,” Mallory said. “The message of lobby of abortion to voters was full of lies that ended up drowning out the truth. Because of tonight’s results, Kansas could soon become the land of unlimited abortion on demand – even unlimited late-term abortion, paid for by taxpayers. The people and their elected legislators no longer have the resources to use the tools of democracy to enact laws that reflect consensus.