Ohio election 2023: Why 'yes' vote on Issue 1 will protect Ohioans from abortion extremists

Amelia Robinson, Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·3 min read
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Ohioans will have their say Tuesday on one of the most contentious ballot initiatives in the state's history.

Issue 1, a proposed abortion and reproductive rights constitutional amendment, will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot

Opponents say it is too extreme. Supporters say enshrining abortion, contraception, fertility treatment and miscarriage care rights into the constitution is the only way to protect Ohioans from extremism.

Ohio's now paused "heartbeat" law offered no exception for incest or rape and prohibited virtually every Ohio abortion when cardiac activity is detected – typically at the six-week mark. That's long before most women know they are pregnant.

THE OTHER SIDE: Why anti-abortion Ohioans say Issue 1 is far too extreme for Buckeye State

Issue 1 would protect abortion access up until viability, which is when a fetus can survive outside the uterus with reasonable measures. The point of viability – when the fetus can live outside the womb – is around 23 to 24 weeks with modern medicine.

Below are 6 recent opinion pieces in support of Issue 1

Jun 24, 2022; Columbus, OH, USA; Alexis Voss, Obetz, wears her sign on her shirt, during an abortion rights protest at the Ohio State House, after the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
Jun 24, 2022; Columbus, OH, USA; Alexis Voss, Obetz, wears her sign on her shirt, during an abortion rights protest at the Ohio State House, after the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade.

Ohio would have dangerous abortion ban without constitutional amendment.

Writers: Columbus Dispatch Editorial Board

LINK TO EDITORIAL: "Issue 1 opponents want Ohio to have the most extreme abortion ban in US. Don't let them."

EXCERPT: "The traumatizing consequences of (the heartbeat) law were on full display after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022.

Most famously, a 10-year-old Columbus girl was thrust into the spotlight after she had to travel to Indiana for an abortion because she could not get one here. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and others cast doubt on the girl's existence before details emerged.

Her rapist, 28-year-old Gerson Fuentes, was sentenced in July to life in prison with the possibility of parole after a minimum of 25 years.

That 10-year-old was far from the only one impacted."

Politicians refuse to respect Ohioans or complexity of abortion choice.

Writer: Mikaela Smith, a research scientist with Ohio Policy Evaluation Network

LINK TO GUEST COLUMN: Ohioans can get treatment for high blood pressure. Abortion should be no different.

EXCERPT: "Some need an abortion to save their life, others cannot financially afford to, or do not want to, give birth and raise a child. For some, pregnancy carries a mental or physical medical risk, for others, a fetus simply will not survive.

The list goes on.  

Mikaela Smith
Mikaela Smith

In our current political climate, many elected officials refuse to respect people’s nuanced decision-making around abortion.

Ohio’s policymakers need to believe their constituents are thoughtful and capable of understanding the personal complexities surrounding abortion."

Issue 1 would give Ohioans right to make decisions about their own bodies.

Writer: Rev. Tim Ahrens is senior minister at First Congregational Church

LINK TO GUEST COLUMN: "I am in an ad supporting Issue 1. Cruelty of 'Christians' opposing it is staggering"

EXCERPT: "As a pastor and friend for those facing these decisions through the years, I have walked through these choices with people. I have known people whose decision was to access abortion and continuing reproductive care.

Rev. Tim Ahrens of of the First Congregational Church downtown has written "The Genius of Justice," a book examining the lives and lessons of 53 faith and other social justice leaders from Columbus and beyond.
Rev. Tim Ahrens of of the First Congregational Church downtown has written "The Genius of Justice," a book examining the lives and lessons of 53 faith and other social justice leaders from Columbus and beyond.

Some have been emotionally overwhelmed by this, and some have not been. Some grieve and some celebrate their hard decision. No person I have ever known as a pastor, has approached abortion as a form of birth control. No one has made this hard choice lightly.

I believe the government should not be in the business of making decisions about reproductive rights for any of us. No matter what your gender, I believe every person I encounter, including myself, has the right and responsibility to care for their own body.

Women are not wombs.

Sarah Kolick
Sarah Kolick

Writer: Attorney Sarah Kolick, an advocate for women's and LGBTQ rights

LINK TO GUEST COLUMN: We aren't your incubators. Abortion bans dehumanize pregnant people. Pass Ohio Issue 1

EXCERPT: "At March for Life, signs depicted fetuses suspended in a sea of fluids that were separated from the living person whose uterus is continuously being put on display.

These signs erase women and other people with uteruses from our own stories.

We are living, breathing people with hopes and dreams that are worthy of being fulfilled. As Diana Greene Foster’s Turnaway Study showed, women who receive abortions are more likely to be able to continue working, studying and planning for their dream futures. Issue 1 helps us protect our right to control our own destinies."

Parental rights are not at risk. Propaganda about Issue 1 an outrage.

Writers: Pediatricians Lauren Beene, Elise Berlan, Arthur Lavin, and Noam Stern, leaders of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights.

LINK TO GUEST COLUMN: Issue 1 will not remove parental consent for abortions. Here's how we know.

EXCERPT: "Because we were so deeply involved in drafting the proposal, we can confidently state that Issue 1 was never intended to and will have no impact on Ohio’s parental consent laws—despite the lies and propaganda being spread by anti-abortion extremists. 

Independent legal experts agree and have repeatedly stated that Issue 1 will not erase or weaken Ohio’s parental consent laws.

What Issue 1 will do is get government out of Ohioans’ personal medical decisions and protect our and other physicians’ ability to provide appropriate treatment for patients and their families."

Issue 1 not about parental rights or 'sex changes'

Writer: Capital University Law Professor Daniel T. Kobil

LINK TO GUEST COLUMN: There are a lot of despicable lies about Issue 1. Here's the 3 nastiness| Lawyer

EXCERPT: "Opponents of abortion, unwilling to argue for the status quo on the merits, also falsely assert that the amendment is aimed at depriving parents of their ability to help children decide whether to seek an abortion or 'sex changes.'

Yet the amendment’s text protects individual “reproductive decisions,” and says nothing about gender affirmation care.  The listed freedoms in Issue 1 all pertain to the freedoms of women—and men—that were cast into doubt by the Dobbs decision.

It expressly guarantees 'individuals' the right to make their own reproductive decisions, and lists 'contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion.'”

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Issue 1: Why vote yes on abortion amendment Nov. 7