The Know Daily - Wednesday 8 November 2023

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Ocean explorers on a month-long expedition recently discovered two deep-sea coral reefs near the Galápagos Islands, both of which are teeming with life. The discovery of the thousands-year-old reefs could help protect “hidden dimensions of ocean diversity”, according to one researcher.

🇺🇸 Ohio’s pro-choice victory

Ohio has approved a constitutional amendment which will ensure abortion rights in the Republican-led US state, marking a victory for pro-choice campaigners.

What’s the story?
On Tuesday, voters in Ohio - a state which voted for Republican Donald Trump by 8 percentage points in the 2020 election - resoundingly voted to add abortion rights to their state constitution. Early analysis suggests that almost 56% of voters backed the statewide referendum, known as “Issue 1”.

Ohio’s vote follows California, Michigan and Vermont, all of which “amended their constitutions to protect abortion rights in the midterm elections”, said The New York Times. But as the paper pointed out, Ohio is “the first Republican-run state” to have done so.

What has the response been?
Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights described the news as a “win for bodily autonomy”, and President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both issued statements celebrating the result.

Despite the vote not going their way, Republicans “remained defiant”, said the Associated Press (AP). Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens said Issue 1’s approval was “not the end of the conversation”.

Is there anything else I should know?
Ever since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade last year (which sent the issue back to individual states), pro-choice advocates have won every abortion-related ballot referendum, including in “reliably red states”. 

And Ohio’s vote was not the only victory scored by Democrats yesterday. In Kentucky, Democratic Governor Andy Beshear was re-elected to a second four-year term, “defying the conservative lean of a state that voted for Trump”, said Reuters. Another vote, this time in Virginia, saw the Democrats win control of both legislative chambers.

What does all this mean for the 2024 election?
News from Ohio is likely to “bolster Democrats’ hopes that abortion rights remain a winning issue” ahead of next year’s election, said the BBC. The results have also helped assuage concerns among some Democrat voters following recent news that Biden’s popularity had slipped to its lowest level since April.