Two organizations looking to protect abortion rights filed paperwork to put the decision in the hands of the voters.
Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom (ORF) and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights (OPRR) filed the petition with the state’s attorney general on Tuesday, following in the footsteps of several other states that added a referendum on the 2022 general election ballots to enshrine the right to abortion in state constitutions — a move that came swiftly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS FORM COALITION TO PROTECT ABORTION RIGHTS
The coalition seeks to include the amendment on the November ballot, which, if passed, would create state-level protections for abortion and prohibit the state from directly or indirectly interfering or penalizing “an individual’s voluntary exercise of this right.”
“Now that we have taken this critical first step in the process, we are eager to begin collecting the signatures needed to place the amendment on the ballot so Ohioans, rather than government and extremist politicians, have the opportunity to determine the future of reproductive healthcare in our state,” OPRR president Marcela Azevedo said in a statement.
The proposed amendment would include a provision that says abortion may be prohibited after fetal viability. It did not specify at what time fetal viability is reached, but scientists generally consider fetal viability to be around 23 or 24 weeks.
However, there is not a universal consensus about letting states decide for themselves at what point abortion is allowed, if at all.
In some states, abortion can be prohibited after as early as six weeks in Arizona to 20 weeks of pregnancy in North Carolina.
Ohio was one of several GOP-controlled states that passed bans on nearly all abortion after six weeks of pregnancy before the Supreme Court’s decision. However, a county court placed an injunction that blocked Ohio’s ban, and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost asked the state Supreme Court to take up the case.
“Ohioans are perilously close to losing access to safe, legal, comprehensive reproductive medical care,” OPRR executive director Lauren Beene said. “As we saw first-hand when Ohio’s abortion ban went into effect last year, withholding that care puts people’s lives and health at risk. This common-sense amendment ensures that physicians will be able to provide the care our patients need and deserve free from government interference.”
Anti-abortion groups are prepared for the fight ahead. Ohio Right to Life started planning its strategy to rally voters against the potential measure months ago, said Michael Gonidakis, president of the anti-abortion organization.
“We’ve known it was just a matter of time before this issue came to the battleground state of Ohio,” Gonidakis said. “We’re ready to go. We’re ready to have this fight.”
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However, pro-abortion rights activists are not letting this deter them, citing the midterm successes in Michigan and Kansas. In Michigan, voters elected to codify abortion rights in the state constitution following a heated campaign. In Kansas, voters rejected a ballot measure that would have stripped abortion protections from the state constitution.
“The power to make reproductive health decisions must be in the hands of the person seeking care,” said Sri Thakkilapati with Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom. “Our grassroots initiative empowers Ohioans to determine their own futures and puts power where it rightly belongs, in the hands of the people. We are energized and eager to see the ballot amendment through to victory.”
