POLITICS
Abortion rights on the ballot in Ohio: What is State Issue 1? Information for voters
Ohio voters will vote on a constitutional amendment to enshrine the right to an abortion. What you need to know about State Issue 1...
Today, Ohio voters will decide on a ballot measure that would add language to the state’s constitution to protect abortion and reproductive rights. This is one of the most closely watched ballot measures this off-year election cycle.
Back in August, voters in Ohio rejected a ballot measure that would have required a sixty percent majority to amend the state’s constitution. The proposition was rejected by fifty-seven percent of voters, and abortion rights activists are hoping that support for State Issue 1 will see similar levels of support.
The Ohio state legislature has passed a six-week abortion ban that is currently under review by the state’s Supreme Court. However, if Issue 1 passes, then this law would not be able to take effect as the right to an abortion would be protected beyond the early weeks of pregnancy.
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A look at the ballot measure: State Issue 1
Six components make up the ballot measure:
- Establish in the Constitution of the State of Ohio an individual right to one’s own reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion;
- Create legal protections for any person or entity that assists a person with receiving reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion;
- Prohibit the State from directly or indirectly burdening, penalizing, or prohibiting abortion before an unborn child is determined to be viable, unless the State demonstrates that it is using the least restrictive means;
- Grant a pregnant woman’s treating physician the authority to determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether an unborn child is viable;
- Only allow the State to prohibit an abortion after an unborn child is determined by a pregnant woman’s treating physician to be viable and only if the physician does not consider the abortion necessary to protect the pregnant woman’s life or health; and
- Always allow an unborn child to be aborted at any stage of pregnancy, regardless of viability if, in the treating physician’s determination, the abortion is necessary to protect the pregnant woman’s life or health.
Source: Secretary of State of Ohio
To vote ‘Yes’ on the ballot measure means that one supports the addition of these abortion and reproductive rights to the Ohio constitution. A vote ‘No’ is a rejection of the proposal, which leaves the door open for a six-week abortion ban to take effect.
Endorsements on both sides
In the ‘Yes’ camp stands the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, former Presidnet Barack Obama, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, and many other Democratic leaders and progressive organizations.
Those urging voters to cast a ‘No’ vote include former Vice President Mike Pence, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, and religious organizations, including the Catholic Conference of Ohio and the Center for Christian Virtue.