Ohio Issue 1: Voters pass abortion rights amendment
Ohioans voted to enshrine access to abortion and other reproductive rights in the state constitution Tuesday, pushing back against decades of GOP restrictions and shoring up protections more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Voters in Ohio − an increasingly red state that backed former President Donald Trump twice – decided that they want doctors, not politicians, making the tough calls about their reproductive decisions. Issue 1 passed 57-43%, according to final, unofficial election results.
“Abortion is health care,” said Lauren Blauvelt, co-chair of Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights. “Today Ohioans made clear that abortion is a winning issue and when we work together, we can do anything.”
Ohio joins a growing list of states that have approved abortion protections after the U.S. Supreme Court sent these decisions back to local lawmakers, judges and voters in 2022. Tuesday’s victory also offers a roadmap for reproductive rights advocates eyeing 2024 votes in places like Florida and Arizona.
The path to victory wasn’t easy. Ohio Republicans and abortion opponents threw up hurdle after hurdle to try to block Issue 1. Most notably, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and several state lawmakers led a campaign to make it harder to amend the Ohio Constitution to block the abortion measure, among other progressive proposals. The quest led to an expensive, nationally watched August election where voters overwhelmingly rejected the idea.
Republicans also attempted to force proponents to collect more signatures, tried to toss the measure out and crafted their own ballot language that Issue 1 backers criticized as unfair and inaccurate.
Nevertheless, Issue 1 proponents persisted. They outspent opponents on television, 2-to-1, boosted financially by Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union and out-of-state, progressive groups. They focused on removing the government from personal, often heart-wrenching, decisions. They highlighted the aftermath of Ohio's abortion bans, which sent a 10-year-old rape victim to Indiana for the procedure.
President Joe Biden applauded Issue 1's victory Tuesday night, saying "Ohioans and voters across the country rejected attempts by MAGA Republican elected officials to impose extreme abortion bans that put the health and lives of women in jeopardy, force women to travel hundreds of miles for care and threaten to criminalize doctors and nurses for providing the health care that their patients need and that they are trained to provide."
Throughout the campaign, Issue 1 opponents hammered the message that the constitutional amendment was too far-reaching and extreme for voters here. They claimed it would impact everything from a requirement that parents sign off on minors' abortions to transgender medical care and abortions late into pregnancy.
"Whether you're pro-life or pro-choice, Issue 1 is just not right for Ohio," GOP Gov. Mike DeWine said in an ad opposing the abortion rights measure. The governor featured prominently in the “no” campaign, appearing on national television and working behind the scenes.
Abortion opponents downplayed a 2019 law passed by GOP lawmakers and signed by DeWine that banned most abortions in the state. That law is currently on hold because of a Democratic judge. Still, Issue 1 opponents promised a middle-of-the-road abortion policy that would appeal to all Ohioans − asking voters to ignore Republican lawmakers' methodical march toward banning nearly all abortions.
On Tuesday night, top Republican lawmakers and abortion opponents promised to keep fighting. “Our hearts are broken tonight not because we lost an election, but because Ohio families, women and children will bear the brunt of this vote," said Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue.
Meanwhile, at a victory party in downtown Columbus, Issue 1 backers cheered as news outlets called the race for the abortion rights measure. They hugged and cried. Dr. Marcela Azevedo, founder of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, was overcome with emotion as people chanted: "It's because of you."
What happens next?
Issue 1 will take effect 30 days after the election. Then, attorneys will sue to repeal Ohio’s abortion bans and restrictions that violate the new constitutional rules.
Chief among those restrictions is the ban on doctors performing abortions after embryonic cardiac activity is detected, which is about six weeks gestation. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost had asked the Ohio Supreme Court to reinstate the law, which supporters call the “heartbeat bill.”
Because there’s an active case before the Ohio Supreme Court, it could be resolved there.
Other abortion restrictions could be repealed, including:
A ban on abortions after a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome.
A ban on dilation and evacuation abortions, the most common second-trimester method.
Ohio's 24-hour waiting period after the patient's initial appointment.
A requirement that clinics have partnerships with local, private hospitals or obtain an exception called a variance.
Abortion rights advocates will head to the courts, not the Ohio Statehouse, to eliminate these laws. That’s because Ohio's GOP-controlled Legislature has not expressed any interest in expanding access to abortion.
Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens promised Tuesday night to push back against the new constitutional amendment: "The legislature has multiple paths that we will explore to continue to protect innocent life. This is not the end of the conversation."
Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
Dig deeper on Ohio Issue 1
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Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Issue 1 election results 2023 live updates
