Voters in Ohio to choose on constitutional right to abortion

Voters in Ohio choose the constitutional right to abortion.
Ohio would become the seventh state to pass abortion rights legislation.

Republican lawmakers in Ohio took measures to raise the threshold.

Beth and Kyle Long, residents of the Columbus area, walked hand in hand into the Franklin County early voting center to cast their votes in support of a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at enshrining abortion and reproductive rights in Ohio’s constitution.

Beth, who is currently 18 weeks pregnant after undergoing in vitro fertilization, found herself in the same situation as she did in January when she had to make the difficult decision to have an abortion due to a fatal fetal condition.

Her unborn child’s organs, except the heart, were growing outside the body, making survival impossible.

The Longs were featured in an advertisement advocating for Issue 1, a measure that has been a focal point of the ongoing campaign leading up to what many see as a pivotal election with implications for the 2024 elections.

Kyle Long emphasized the importance of preventing others in Ohio from experiencing the same ordeal, stating, “I think it’s important for us to know that no one else here in Ohio has to go through what we went through.”

If the proposed amendment is approved, Ohio would become the seventh state to pass abortion rights legislation since the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade the previous summer.

This amendment could also prevent the reinstatement of a law that bans abortions once fetal cardiac activity can be detected, which can occur as early as six weeks into pregnancy.

A county court had suspended this law a year ago following a lawsuit by doctors, citing situations where it endangered women’s lives despite an exception for cases threatening the mother’s life.

The state appealed this ruling to the Republican-dominated Ohio Supreme Court, which includes three justices who have publicly expressed their opposition to abortion rights.

In the lead-up to the vote, supporters and opponents of the amendment have been actively campaigning, including door-knocking and holding rallies at the Ohio Statehouse.

Aaron Baer, the president of the Center for Christian Virtue, expressed the determination of churches to defeat the amendment, emphasizing that it would eliminate the state law requiring parental consent or a court order for minors under 18 seeking an abortion.

Opponents argue that the “health of the mother exception” would allow abortions up to the point of birth, a claim disputed by medical professionals and attorneys.

While much of the opposition to the amendment comes from Catholic and evangelical churches and organizations, not all churches share the same stance.

Some, like the United Methodist Church in Columbus, view it as a matter of justice and prioritize the health and well-being of all individuals.

Ohio was considered a swing state, but it has shifted towards consistently supporting Republican candidates in recent years in the past.

Despite this, various polls consistently indicate that a significant percentage of Ohioans support some form of abortion rights, ranging from 55% to 58%.

Republican Governor Mike DeWine, a staunch opponent of the amendment, appeared in a campaign ad with his wife to express their belief that the measure goes too far and is not right for Ohio.

He acknowledged that the six-week abortion ban he signed in 2019 faced opposition, especially after the US Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade last summer.

A ten-year-old rape victim had to travel to Indiana for an abortion because Ohio’s ban did not include exceptions for rape and incest during that period. He promised to consider them if the amendment is rejected while DeWine did not propose adding these exceptions.

Supporters of the amendment, like Lauren Blauvelt with Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, argue that politicians have had ample time to discuss reasonable adjustments and that the majority of Ohioans believe exceptions for rape and incest should be included.

In an attempt to sway the vote in their favor, Republican lawmakers in Ohio took measures to raise the threshold for passing constitutional amendments to 60% instead of a simple majority, but it failed in a special August ballot.

The Ohio Ballot Board, controlled by Republicans opposing abortion rights, approved summary language for the current ballot that omitted portions of the amendment addressing birth control and substituted “fetus” with “unborn child.” The Ohio Supreme Court allowed most of this controversial ballot language to stand.

The head of the Ballot Board, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, is one of the Republicans running in a primary to oppose Democratic US Senator Sherrod Brown next year and recently removed 27,000 voters from the rolls during the early voting period.

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Voters in Ohio to choose on constitutional right to abortion

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