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ohioans united for reproductive rights
'A Historic Night': Ohio Voters Enshrine Abortion Rights in State Constitution
"This victory should serve as a clear warning to other extremists who want to pass dangerous abortion bans across the country," said Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights.
Nov 08, 2023
Ohio voters on Tuesday delivered a resounding win for reproductive freedom by approving a citizen-sponsored measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution, overcoming Republican-led efforts to derail the initiative with misinformation and undemocratic procedural changes.
Ohioans approved Issue 1 by a decisive 56.6% to 43.4% margin, creating the constitutional right to "make and carry out one's own reproductive decisions," including contraception, abortion, fertility treatment, and miscarriage care.
The measure states that while "abortion may be prohibited after fetal viability," it establishes that "in no case may such an abortion be prohibited if in the professional judgment of the pregnant patient's treating physician it is necessary to protect the pregnant patient's life or health."
The passage of the constitutional amendment likely spells an end to the prolonged legal fight over a six-week abortion ban that Ohio's GOP-controlled Legislature approved in 2019. The ban was blocked in court, but Ohio's Republican attorney general moved to revive the law after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
While the case is currently before the Ohio Supreme Court, the passage of Issue 1 means the draconian six-week ban would violate the state's constitution.
"Today, the people of Ohio voted to restore their reproductive rights and reclaim their freedom to make their most personal decisions. They rejected the disinformation and fear and voted instead to ensure that every Ohioan will have access to the healthcare they need," Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights said in response to Tuesday's vote.
"We know Ohioans overwhelmingly support reproductive freedom and abortion rights—and we know the majority of Americans support it, too. This victory should serve as a clear warning to other extremists who want to pass dangerous abortion bans across the country," the coalition added. "Tonight is a historic night for Ohio. We voted to secure our constitutional right to control our private healthcare decisions and make sure that all Ohioans have access to abortion care—no matter who is in public office."
Issue 1's passage was one of several election night victories for abortion rights advocates.
In the red state of Kentucky, voters reelected Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, defeating a Republican challenger who backed the state's near-total abortion ban.
Virginia voters, meanwhile, kept Democrats in control of the state Senate and ended GOP control of the House after a campaign focused heavily on abortion rights. The state's Republicans, led by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, have proposed banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement that "voters across the U.S. are stepping up to protect the rights the Supreme Court dismantled."
"Since the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade, every time voters have been able to weigh in, they've voted in favor of protection of abortion rights," said Northup. "This victory in Ohio could not have happened without the grassroots organizers on the ground, who fought tirelessly against the anti-abortion movement's misinformation campaign."
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Abortion Rights Groups in Ohio Make Final Push for Issue 1 as GOP Peddles Misinformation
Republicans "know they can't win a fair fight, so they're trying to rig the game," said former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich.
Nov 02, 2023
Reproductive rights advocates in Ohio and across the U.S. are intensifying efforts to ensure voters in the Midwestern state approve a ballot measure on November 7 that would enshrine the right to abortion care in the Ohio Constitution—making a final push with canvassing and phone banking campaigns as they combat misinformation from pro-forced pregnancy Republicans.
Issue 1 will ask voters whether the state constitution should be amended to affirm that Ohioans have the right to "carry out one's own reproductive decisions," including abortion.
Abortion care is currently legal in Ohio up to 22 weeks of pregnancy as the right-wing state Supreme Court deliberates over a six-week abortion ban that was passed by Republicans and then put on hold.
Advocates have warned that failing to amend the constitution will leave Ohioans without "the freedom to decide what it best for [their] own families," with Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights (OURR) featuring in one ad a woman who needed an abortion after getting pregnant in an abusive relationship.
The Ohio secretary of state's office reported earlier this week that more than 200,000 voters had cast their ballots early in person and about 110,000 people had sent in absentee ballots by October 24, representing an even higher early voter turnout than the state saw ahead of an August special election.
That election, which progressive news outlet Heartland Signal said was likely "supercharging pro-choice voters" as Ohioans flocked to the polls to vote early, asked voters whether the state should require a 60% threshold on referendums regarding amendments to the state constitution, rather than a simple majority. The initiative, backed by Republicans who oppose abortion rights, failed by a vote of 43% to 57%.
Led by Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, forced pregnancy advocates have managed to change the language of the question appearing on ballots in the November 7 general election, using the word "unborn child" instead of the originally proposed "fetus" and saying the amendment would, as the ACLU of Ohio explained in September, "'always allow' abortion care 'at any stage of pregnancy, regardless of viability,' if the treating physician finds it necessary to protect health."
"Not only is this phrasing confusing and inflammatory, but it also suggests that the physician could override the pregnant patient's wishes," said Sheila Smith, communications strategist at the ACLU of Ohio. "This is absolutely false."
The amendment would allow the state to ban abortion care after about 23 weeks of pregnancy unless it "is necessary to protect the pregnant patient's life or health," but that language does not appear in the certified language on Ohioans' ballots.
State Attorney General Dave Yost has also falsely claimed the proposed amendment would invalidate parental consent laws for minors seeking abortion care.
Republican leaders in the state "know they can't win a fair fight, so they're trying to rig the game," said former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich.
A poll by the Institute for Civics and Public Policy at Ohio Northern University last week found that 52% of Ohio voters still support Issue 1 based on the certified language that will appear on ballots, while 68% supported the proposed amendment as advocates initially phrased it.
In addition to working to ensure voters know that Issue 1 will be appearing on ballots, groups including Innovation Ohio are working to educate Ohioans on the facts about the referendum and Republicans' false claims.
State Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-23) toldThe Hill on Wednesday that the ballot initiative may represent "a real turning point in terms of whether or not young people especially even see Ohio as a state they want to live in," as states like California and New York work to make abortion more accessible.
"And I do believe that the outcome of this election and of this ballot measure is gonna send a message to young people on whether or not there's a future for them here in Ohio," said Antonio.
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Outrage as Ohio Court Lets GOP-Backed ‘Propaganda’ Stay on Ballot for Abortion Rights Referendum
The Ohio Ballot Board has created "out of whole cloth a veil of deceit and bias in their desire to impose their views on Ohio voters," one dissenting judge wrote.
Sep 20, 2023
The Ohio Supreme Court sided with the state's GOP-led Ohio Ballot Board Tuesday night, ruling that the words "unborn child" could be used instead of "fetus" in the ballot summary of a referendum that would add reproductive rights to the state constitution.
The decision is the latest setback for the referendum after voters defeated a GOP-supported measure in August that would have required a 60% majority to pass constitutional amendments.
"This should have been simple, but the Ohio ballot board tried to mislead voters yet again," Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights spokesperson Lauren Blauvelt told The Guardian. "Issue 1 is clearly and concisely written to protect Ohioans' right to make our own personal healthcare decisions about contraception, pregnancy, and abortion, free from government interference. The actual amendment language communicates that right clearly and without distortion."
"Anti-abortion extremists will continue to lie and cheat in their attempt to defeat us in November—but Ohioans won’t be deceived."
The amendment, which Ohioans will vote on November 7, would guarantee that "every individual has a right to make and carry out one's own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on: 1. contraception; 2. fertility treatment; 3. continuing one's own pregnancy; 4. miscarriage care; and 5. abortion."
It allows for restrictions on abortion "after fetal viability"—the point at which a fetus could survive on its own, usually around 24 weeks.
However, it stipulates that "in no case may such an abortion be prohibited if in the professional judgment of the pregnant patient's treating physician it is necessary to protect the pregnant patient's life or health."
Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights wanted to share the actual amendment text on the ballot. However, in an August 24 meeting, the Ohio Ballot Board decided on its own language.
The board-proposed summary says the amendment would "prohibit the citizens of the State of Ohio from directly or indirectly burdening, penalizing, or prohibiting abortion before an unborn child is determined to be viable."
It also states that the amendment would "always allow an unborn child to be aborted at any stage of pregnancy, regardless of viability if, in the treating physician's determination, the abortion is necessary to protect the pregnant woman's life or health."
Notably, the board is headed by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican and abortion opponent who drafted the new language.
"The entire summary is propaganda," Blauvelt toldThe Associated Press when it was first passed.
In a statement, Ohioans United for Reproductive Health pointed out that the board's summary was actually longer than the amendment text.
The group and five other petitioners sued to block the language four days after the board's meeting, arguing that it aimed "improperly to mislead Ohioans and persuade them to oppose the Amendment."
However, the Ohio Supreme Court Tuesday ruled that the "unborn child" language could stay. It did order one change—to swap "citizens of the State of Ohio" for "the State of Ohio" when explaining who the amendment would restrict.
"We conclude that the term 'citizens of the State' is misleading in that it suggests to the average voter that the proposed amendment would restrict the actions of individual citizens instead of the government," the court ruled, as Cincinnati.com reported.
Not everyone on the court agreed, however. Three Republicans would have made no changes, while the three Democratic members would have tossed out the "unborn child" language as well.
Justice Jennifer Brunner said the board "obfuscated the actual language of the proposed state constitutional amendment by substituting their own language and creating out of whole cloth a veil of deceit and bias in their desire to impose their views on Ohio voters about what they think is the substance of the proposed amendment," as Cincinnati.com reported.
"It's unfortunate that advocacy seems to have infiltrated a process that is meant to be objective and neutral," Justice Michael Donnelly agreed, according to Cincinati.com.
The amendment is a crucial test for abortion rights in Ohio and beyond. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, every state ballot initiative enshrining reproductive rights has passed, NBC News observed. Ohio has passed a "heartbeat bill" banning abortion after six weeks, but it is currently blocked by its supreme court. Ohio is also one of the only states in the Midwest region that still permits abortions, The Guardian pointed out.
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