Missouri voters approved a ballot measure enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution, NBC News projects, overturning the state’s near-total ban on abortion and providing a victory for abortion rights activists.

The amendment, which required a simple majority to pass, removes the state’s ban on abortion and protects the right to abortion until fetal viability, around the 24th week of pregnancy, with exceptions subsequently to protect the life or health of the woman.

The ballot measure also allows for the regulation of reproductive health care to “improve or maintain” the health of the patient and requires the government not to discriminate against individuals “providing or obtaining” reproductive health care. depending on the language of the ballot.

Missouri banned almost all abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, which ended the nation’s right to abortion and returned legal questions around the procedure to the states. Current state law is considered one of the strictest in the country, although it provides exceptions to protect the life of the mother and for medical emergencies.

Amendment 3 appeared on Missouri ballots after withstanding legal challenges. At the beginning of September, a circuit court judge ruled that the campaign did not meet the legal requirements to qualify for the ballot. But the state Supreme Court quickly intervened: reverse this judgment and clear the way for the amendment to be presented to voters.

Missouri joins a string of red states where voters have acted to expand abortion rights after state legislatures passed bans following the 2022 Dobbs decision.

Nine other states considered constitutional amendments regarding abortion rights this election, including in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota.