Ohio Could Vote To Protect Abortion Rights As Latest Ballot Measure Moves Forward
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Ohio could become the next state to urge voters to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, as a state council on Monday voted to move forward with a proposed ballot measure and begin collecting signatures, part of a broader movement of pro-abortion advocates Abortion laws across the country is to use voting measures to protect access in states where abortion is banned or threatened.
Important facts
The Ohio Ballot Board unanimously approved the proposed ballot measure Monday Cincinnati Inquirer The measure’s certification was reportedly one issue instead of multiple issues and was therefore up for a vote in November.
The ballot measure asks voters to approve an amendment to the Ohio Constitution that protects the right to an abortion to the point where a fetus is viable, stating, “Each person has the right to make his or her own reproductive choices and.” including, but not limited to, decisions regarding contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion.”
Organizers now need to collect enough signatures for the voting measure to appear on the ballot, and submit at least 413,000 valid signatures by July 5 – although stakeholders spearheading the effort said on Monday they were aiming to get at least 700,000, to ensure this are above the threshold.
Ohio enacted a six-week abortion ban, but the law is currently blocked in court — although the Ohio Supreme Court could reinstate it — and the state’s GOP-controlled legislature has enacted a number of abortion restrictions in recent years.
Crucial quote
“This grassroots initiative — by and for the people of Ohio — will create reasonable safeguards for the freedom of Ohioans to make decisions about their own reproductive health care, including abortion,” Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom’s Kellie Copeland, one of the groups behind the vote measure, said in a statement on Monday.
Big number
66%. That’s the percentage of Ohio residents who say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a PRRI survey conducted between March and December 2022.
tangent
Abortion rights advocates are aiming to get the abortion bill put to a vote in November as Republican lawmakers seek to make it more difficult for voting measures to be passed in the state. The state legislature is moving forward with a constitutional amendment — which could also be up for a vote in November — that would require at least 60% of voters to approve a voting measure for it to pass, rather than a simple majority. Should that happen, it would likely be much more difficult to pass similar abortion protections in 2024 or later. “This could be one of our last chances to make that happen,” said Dr. Laura Beene of the Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights at a press conference in early March.
main critic
Anti-abortion opponents of the ballot measure believe it goes too far by allowing abortion up to the point of viability – usually around 23 or 24 weeks after the onset of a pregnancy requester Reports and Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis said the proposed change was “dangerous and misleading.”
What to look out for
Other states could put abortion on the ballot. According to NBC News, efforts are underway in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota to have abortion-related ballot measures approved in upcoming election cycles, although they are at various stages of development. At the same time, Republican lawmakers are working to raise the threshold for passing these measures. In addition to Ohio, lawmakers in states like Florida, Idaho, Missouri, Oklahoma and North Dakota are also considering bills that would increase the percentage of votes needed for electoral measures to succeed, Pew said.
key background
Abortion voting measures have attracted attention as a tool to protect access to abortion after the Supreme Court ruled Roe v. Wade lifted in June. Since then, voters in six states have considered abortion-related policies, with all pro-choice. Voters in Kansas defeated a ballot measure in August that would have paved the way for the state to ban abortion, followed by ballot measures in California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana and Vermont in November. The election measures are consistent with public polls suggesting that even in GOP-run states, most voters favor abortion being at least mostly legal, making the strategy an attractive way to harness public opinion and to overcome the legislature’s bans on access to abortion. The PRRI poll found that a majority of voters in 43 states and the District of Columbia support legality of abortion in all or most cases, with South Dakota (42%), Utah (42%), Arkansas (43%) , Oklahoma (45%), Idaho (49%), Mississippi (49%) and Tennessee (49%) are the only states that were less pro-legal abortions. No state had a majority of voters who believed the procedure should be outright illegal in all cases, with support for abortion bans without exception exceeding 14% support in any state.
Further reading
Abortion rights advocates get green light to collect signatures for 2023 ballot (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Abortion rights supporters win all 5 state election measures – including in Kentucky and Michigan (Forbes)
Abortion rights groups look to build on victories with new ballot measures (NBC News)
The fight for access to abortion could return to the ballot box in four states as the 2024 election approaches (insider)
Analysis: Why Ohio pro-choice advocates are speeding up a constitutional change (Ideastream Public Media)
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