Democratic lawmakers want to protect abortion access by amending Ohio's constitution

Anna Staver, The Columbus Dispatch
·2 min read

Four Democratic state lawmakers want to protect abortion access if Roe v. Wade is overturned by amending Ohio's state constitution.

"No one should be forced to carry a pregnancy against their will," Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, D-Youngstown, said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. "I am standing up for Ohioans who deserve all the safety and benefits that come with access to birth control and legal abortions.”

Lapore-Hagan and Rep. Jessica E. Miranda, D-Forest Park, plan to introduce a bill in the Ohio House. While Democratic Sens. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, and Sandra Williams, D-Cleveland, will carry a companion resolution in the Senate.

Abortions in Ohio: Who gets abortions in Ohio? Unmarried, twenty-somethings in their first trimester.

At The Stop The Bans pro choice protesters at the Ohio Statehouse in May 2019 against bans against abortion that states have enacted including Ohio. Ohio's mandate that abortion clinics have transfer agreements with hospitals will stay in place after the Supreme Court struck down a similar law in Louisiana.
At The Stop The Bans pro choice protesters at the Ohio Statehouse in May 2019 against bans against abortion that states have enacted including Ohio. Ohio's mandate that abortion clinics have transfer agreements with hospitals will stay in place after the Supreme Court struck down a similar law in Louisiana.

Overturning Roe v. Wade, which has been in place for almost 50 years, would return decisions about where and when to permit abortions back to the states. In Ohio, that would likely ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat was detected without exceptions for rape or incest.

And a statewide ban on all abortions might soon follow. Republican lawmakers have introduced multiple "trigger bills" that would ban abortions as soon as the U.S. Supreme Court acted.

Majority of Ohio supported federal abortion protections in 2019

According to a Quinnipiac poll, 61% of Ohioans supported federal abortion protections in 2019, the year Gov. Mike DeWine signed a law banning abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat.

But a constitutional amendment proposed by state lawmakers requires three-fifths of each chamber to support it, and Democrats don't hold a majority in the House or the Senate.

Republican leadership in the General Assembly is also staunchly anti-abortion. Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, couldn't immediately be reached for comment, but he has previously said he wouldn't bring any bill to the floor that made it easier to access an abortion in Ohio.

"Abortion is legal in Ohio," Pro-Choice Ohio Director Kellie Copeland said in a statement. "But it will take a pro-choice Ohio governor, a pro-choice state legislature, and the collective action of pro-choice voters to ensure that right and that access is protected."

Anna Staver is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. It serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Democrats plan to introduce state amendment to protect abortion