By Janjabill Tahsin
Staff Writer
In Ohio, voters approved a constitutional amendment on Nov. 7, with 57% of votes in favor of guaranteeing its citizens access to abortion and other forms of reproductive rights. Despite this large victory for abortion rights supporters since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, Ohio Republicans are already trying to reverse that result.
Ohio is the only state to agree on state-wide abortion rights and the seventh state where voters have decided to protect abortion rights.
“The future is bright, and tonight we can celebrate this win for bodily autonomy and reproductive rights,” said Lauren Blauvelt, co-chair of Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights.
In response to the outcome of the referendum, which overrides laws passed by the Republican-dominated legislature to dramatically restrict access, 27 GOP members of the Ohio General Assembly signed a statement stating that the language used in the abortion rights proposal is vague and intentionally deceptive, “fail[ing] to mention a single, specific law.” They vowed to “do everything in [their] power” to prevent the state’s restrictive abortion laws from being challenged.
According to the Ohio Capital Journal, Republican state Reps. Jennifer Gross, Bill Dean, Melanie Miller and Beth Lear went even further, seeking to strip judges of their power to interpret the constitutional amendment passed and give the legislature, not the courts, the power to make decisions on the amendment.
“To prevent mischief by pro-abortion courts with Issue 1,” wrote the four Ohio Republic state lawmakers in a statement, “Ohio legislators will consider removing jurisdiction from the judiciary over this ambiguous ballot initiative.”
House Speaker Jason Stephens, however, rejected the draft legislation.
“This is Schoolhouse Rock-type stuff. We need to make sure that we have the three branches of the government,” Stephens said. “The constitution is what we abide by.”
Reproductive rights advocates plan to ask the courts to repeal any remaining abortion bans and restrictions in Ohio. According to AP News, this includes a mandatory 24-hour waiting period before abortion seekers can have the procedure, and a ban on abortions after a fetus has been diagnosed with Down syndrome.
Abortion access in Ohio is expected to play a central role in the 2024 elections, with voters in Arizona, Missouri and elsewhere presumed to vote on similar protections next year.
“Ohio’s resounding support for this constitutional amendment reaffirms Democratic priorities and sends a strong message to the state GOP that reproductive rights are non-negotiable,” said Heather Williams, interim president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign, in a statement.
The amendment’s win was celebrated by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who issued statements emphasizing that attempts to ban or severely restrict abortion represent a minority view in the U.S. Harris suggested that the issue would likely be central to Democrats’ campaigning next year for Congress and the presidency, saying “extremists are pushing for a national abortion ban that would criminalize reproductive health care in every single state in our nation.”
Despite it being an off-year election, voter turnout for Ohio’s amendment, including early voting, was robust and will more than likely undo a 2019 state law passed by Republicans that bans most abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected, with no exceptions for rape or incest. That law, however, is currently on hold due to court challenges and is one of roughly two dozen restrictions on abortion the Ohio Legislature has passed in recent years.
