Ohio's abortion vote should have Kari Lake and the Arizona GOP saying, 'Uh-oh'

Memo from Ohio voters to Kari Lake and the Arizona Republican Party:

Be afraid.

Very, very afraid.

Voters in the conservative Buckeye State on Tuesday embraced a citizen initiative to enshrine abortion in Ohio's constitution.

Meanwhile, over in Virginia, voters handed control of that state’s General Assembly to Democrats in the face of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s vow to ban abortion after 15 weeks except in the case of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother.

Ohio is the seventh state — including both red and blue ones — in which voters have proclaimed that the right to abortion should be protected in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last year.

Why Lake and the GOP should be terrified

Did I say Lake and the GOP should be afraid?

How about terrified?

Especially as the conservative Arizona Supreme Court is actually considering a return to the 19th Century — specifically whether to reinstate a Civil War-era law that actually criminalizes abortion. A hearing is set for Dec. 12, on the eve of a crucial election year in this swing state.

Especially as Arizona voters are likely to put a similar proposal to Ohio's, entitled the Arizona Abortion Access Act, on next year’s ballot.

Did I say terrified? How about in an absolute panic?

Ohio Democrats made a beeline to the polls on Tuesday, where both abortion and a proposal to legalize marijuana were on the ballot. The abortion question passed with the support of nearly 57% voters, with an ABC exit poll indicating independents favored it by a 28-point margin.

This in a state that twice voted for Donald Trump.

Ohio GOP vows to fight voters' decision

Issue 1, as the Ohio ballot question was called, declared a constitutional right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions,” up to the point of fetal viability and beyond, if a doctor determined the “life or health” of the woman was at risk.

Tuesday’s vote should be a wake-up call to Ohio’s Republican legislature and governor, who in 2019 enacted a “heartbeat law” banning abortion after embryonic cardiac activity is detected, roughly six weeks. That law was on hold while being challenged in the courts.

But, of course, they already are pondering an end run on voters, with Ohio’s House speaker saying that Tuesday’s decisive vote “is not the end of the conversation.”

In Arizona, the Legislature and then-Gov. Doug Ducey last year passed a bill that bans abortion after 15 weeks, even in the case of rape or incest. Now, in the aftermath of Roe’s undoing, the Scottsdale-based Alliance Defending Freedom has asked the state Supreme Court to declare that the 1864 law criminalizing abortion even in the case of rape or incest — the one Lake once called a “great law” — supersedes the 15-week ban.

Arizona’s ballot proposal to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right is a mirror image of Ohio’s.

Expect Kari Lake to change the subject

Look for the Center of Arizona Policy’s Cathi Herrod, the face of Arizona’s anti-abortion movement, to haul out the horror stories about late-term abortions — never mind that terminations at 21 weeks or later are rare, accounting for approximately 1% of all abortions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Look for Kari Lake, who is hoping to reclaim a U.S. Senate seat for Republicans, to change the subject.

Kari Lake's retreat on abortion: Shows she's reading the polls

Unfortunately for her, she opened her mouth plenty during her unsuccessful run for governor last year, calling abortion the “ultimate sin” and calling on on the Legislature to pass a “heartbeat bill.”

She even heralded that 1864 law — the one mandating a two- to five-year prison sentence for anyone who provides an abortion to anyone other than a dying girl or woman — as a “great law.”

“I’m pro-life,” Lake said during the summer of 2022. “I’ve never backed away from that and never will.”

Ohio's win helps Arizona abortion groups

These days, there is no fiery talk of a moral imperative or of support for imprisoning doctors who perform abortions on rape victims.

On her Senate campaign website, Lake merely says she would oppose a national abortion ban, preferring to leave the issue to states.

I’m guessing she will get her wish. Expect a pitched battle as abortion rights groups take to Arizona’s streets to collect the 383,923 valid signatures they need to put it on the November 2024 ballot.

This, as Republicans try to swing what was once a reliably red state back to Trump, reclaim a Senate seat they lost in 2018 and hold onto their one-seat control of the Arizona Legislature.

Did I say Republicans should be panicked?

After Tuesday, how about horrified, petrified, lay-awake-at-night scared witless?

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @LaurieRoberts or on Threads at @laurierobertsaz.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ohio abortion vote should terrify Kari Lake and the Arizona GOP