Why abortion was a key issue in the US midterm elections

Abortion, inflation, gun control and the right to vote were among the many topics Americans debated ahead of the US midterm elections.

Five US states held votes specifically on abortion on Tuesday.

This saw three victories for pro-choice supporters, with Vermont, Michigan and California all enshrining the right to abortion in their constitution.

In Kentucky, voters will decide whether the state constitution should remove all protection for abortion rights.

The vote, like measures in Michigan, California, Montana and Vermont, will signal Americans' attitudes toward abortion after the country's Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade rights.

In the wake of the ruling, 13 states banned or severely restricted abortion after the right to the procedure was struck down at federal level.