Ohio March for Life rallies abortion opponents at Statehouse before Issue 1 vote

For those gathered on the Ohio Statehouse lawn Friday, Ohio Issue 1 is a matter of life and death.

"We're Catholics and we believe that life begins at conception, and there's no reason to stop that," said Julie Fischbach, the youth minister at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Fort Jennings. She brought 19 children to the second Ohio March for Life on the west lawn of the Ohio Statehouse, including 15-year-old Tiffany Coller.

More: What Ohioans need to know about November ballot issue on abortion

"Babies should be born and not be killed and honestly, people should really stand by that more," said Tiffany, who held a hand-drawn sign featuring Star Wars characters that read: "Protect the child. This is the way."

The rally and march around downtown Columbus come shortly before early voting begins on Ohio Issue 1, which would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution and effectively eliminate many of the GOP bans and restrictions on the procedure.

Upcoming forum: How to get your questions answered and watch Issue 1 election forum

The Nov. 7 vote will happen more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, sending abortion policy back to state lawmakers and judges. In Ohio, that meant a 2019 law banning most abortions took effect almost immediately.

That law prohibited doctors from performing abortions after embryonic cardiac activity was detected, which is about six weeks gestation. In September 2022, a Hamilton County judge temporarily blocked that law. The result: abortion is currently legal in Ohio through 21 weeks and six days gestation − at least for now.

Republican politicians, including Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and about a dozen state lawmakers, joined prominent abortion opponents like the Center for Christian Virtue and Ohio Right to Life in a rallying cry Friday to defeat the proposed constitutional amendment. Columbus Bishop Earl Fernandes offered an opening prayer.

Their message: Issue 1 is too extreme for the average Ohio voter.

"They don't give a crap about the state of Ohio. They care about themselves," said Vance about those funding and running the abortion rights campaign. "If there's somebody out there telling you that what's in your best interest is to get rid of your own baby, they do not have your best interests at heart."

But Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, the campaign for Issue 1, says that Ohioans care about protections for abortion and other reproductive choices.

“Over 700,000 Ohioans came together and signed petitions to support an amendment in the Ohio Constitution that will protect abortion access for everyone in our state," according to a statement from the campaign. "They’re asking their friends and neighbors to vote Yes on Issue 1 to end the Ohio abortion ban and make sure women and families can once again make the decisions that are best for them.”

In the year after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision, voters in six other states sided with abortion access, including neighboring Michigan and Kentucky. A July USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University poll found about 57.6% of Ohio voters supported the abortion rights proposal; 32.4% opposed it and 10% were undecided, according to the poll of 500 voters, 454 likely voters and 46 registered voters.

"I'm not exactly optimistic about it," said Mason Snider, of New Concord, who has knocked on doors to defeat Issue 1. "In my mind, I owe it to God and to the unborn to at least try to do something about it if I can. So I don't know how this is going to work out, but I'm going to do what I can."

Husted, who was adopted and opposes abortion, talked about the need to "win over the hearts and minds of the majority of voters."

"So please hear this, please, because we have to reach our brothers and sisters across the state to prevail on this issue," Husted said. "We must persuade them that Issue 1 is too radical for Ohio and that they need to vote no."

But abortion rights advocates say what's extreme is GOP-approved laws that restrict access to abortion, prosecute doctors who perform them and send patients out of state.

While Ohio's ban on most abortions was in effect last year, the number of abortions performed in Ohio dropped dramatically. Called "the heartbeat law" by supporters, the measure had no exceptions for rape or incest. Doctors could perform abortions to save the pregnant patient's life, but the medical emergency exemption was cited in only 20 abortions during that time, according to a recent Ohio Department of Health report.

Sen. Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, who sponsored that bill, told those gathered it was a good step to save lives, but life begins even earlier. Ohio lawmakers have not passed any abortion policy since the U.S. Supreme Court decision last year, but some would push to ban all abortions in the state.

"Let me be clear," said Roegner. "Even though I am the sponsor of the heartbeat bill and am proud to do so, life begins at conception."

But first, Ohioans will vote on the constitutional amendment this November. Early voting starts Oct. 11.

"I really hope the issue goes down," said Rod Anderson, of Hilliard. "It'd be a sad day for the state of Ohio if it passes."

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 March for Life rallies abortion opponents before Issue 1 vote