Ohio abortion rights amendment advances after ballot language approved
Abigail Adcox
A proposed ballot initiative that would enshrine the right to an abortion in the Ohio Constitution is one step closer to going before voters in November after the Ohio Ballot Board certified suggested language.
The five-member board unanimously certified that the proposed amendment only concerned one constitutional issue, clearing the way for abortion rights groups to gather signatures to place it on the November ballot. Under Ohio law, a proposed amendment cannot concern more than one issue.
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“This grassroots initiative, by and for the people of Ohio, will create commonsense guarantees for Ohioans’ freedom to make decisions about their own reproductive healthcare, including abortion,” said Kellie Copeland with the Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom.
The proposal, called the Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety, is backed by a coalition of abortion rights groups, including Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. The amendment would put in the Ohio Constitution that “every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage care and abortion.”
The proposed amendment will need over 400,000 valid signatures by July in order to qualify for the ballot this year.
Abortion opponents have argued that the amendment is extreme and would allow abortions at all stages of pregnancy, which abortion rights proponents have denied.
“Regardless of what your views are on abortion, everyone should be concerned about this radical ballot measure that eliminates basic health care regulations and contains no protections for women’s safety,” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America’s State Affairs Director Sue Liebel said in a statement.
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Abortions are legal in Ohio until 22 weeks of pregnancy. A law that would prohibit abortions after six weeks is currently blocked in courts while its constitutionality is determined. If the proposed abortion amendment advances to the ballot, it could determine abortion access in the state.
Abortion rights ballot measures fared well in last year’s election in several states. Michigan voters approved a similar amendment to the state constitution that guarantees the right to an abortion.