Abortion Rights Amendment on the Ballot in Ohio

Abortion rights supporters in Ohio were informed on Tuesday that they had collected the necessary number of signatures to qualify a proposal to include abortion rights in the state constitution for the November 7 ballot.

Petitioners gathered 495,938 valid signatures in total, more than the required minimum of 413,446 signatures, or 10% of the total votes cast for the governor’s office in the most recent election, according to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R).

In addition to exceeding the minimum threshold of at least 44 counties, these signatures were gathered from 55 counties in Ohio. In order to get the proposal on the ballot, the coalition said earlier this month that they had turned in over 700,000 signatures.

Abortion Rights Amendment on Ballot

The amendment, if approved, would create a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” subject to “reasonable limits.” The amendment would allow abortion up until the moment at which a fetus can survive outside of the womb, often approximately 24 weeks into a pregnancy, which is similar to the standard formerly established under Roe v. Wade.

The tweet below confirms the news:

WE ARE CERTIFIED! 🎉 With a historic 495,938 signatures from across Ohio–you will see abortion rights on the ballot in the November election.

This could not have happened without our dedicated volunteers. pic.twitter.com/2JjhY3rV7N

— Protect Choice Ohio (@protectchoiceOH) July 25, 2023

In accordance with the proposed amendment, “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 amendment’s wording had already received approval from the state’s ballot board and attorney general. Prior to a state court putting the ban on hold last fall, Ohio passed a six-week abortion ban shortly after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade last year.

Elizabeth Walters, chairwoman of the Ohio Democratic Party, remarked, “Today was a significant victory for Ohio women, and Ohio Democrats were proud to play our part.” “Out-of-touch politicians are relentlessly attacking women’s fundamental rights, interfering in women’s private, medical decisions, and laying the foundation for a complete abortion ban in Ohio,” reads a statement from the Ohio Women’s Rights Campaign.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled last month that a contentious special election that would ask voters whether to raise the threshold for future measures to a 60 percent supermajority can proceed as scheduled in August. According to The Associated Press, voter support for amendments concerning abortions in certain states has ranged from 50 percent to 60 percent since the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Roe v. Wade decision last year.

The August special election has faced opposition from pro-abortion groups, who argue that doing so will make it more difficult for the amendment to succeed in November.

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Ohioans Back Abortion Rights Amendment by 60%

Following a recent USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University survey, which revealed that roughly 60% of Ohio voters support the abortion rights amendment, the news was released. Party affiliation determined the level of support for the amendment, with 81 percent of Democrats and 32 percent of Republicans in favor. According to the study, independents backed the proposal 70% of the time.

“Every person deserves respect, dignity, and the right to make reproductive health care decisions, including those related to their own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion free from government interference,” Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights Executive Committee members Lauren Blauvelt and Dr. Lauren Beene said in a statement Tuesday.

LaRose declared that he will immediately give the Ohio Board of Elections the order to put the amendment on the November general election ballot. Last Monday, LaRose announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, joining two other well-known Republicans fighting for the position currently held by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).