Watch forum on Ohio Issue 1, abortion and reproductive rights effort

Starting Monday you can watch a special election forum on Issue 1 — the abortion and reproductive rights amendment — produced by The Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Spectrum News 1 and the Ohio Debate Commission.

The forum will be available on this newspaper's website through Election Day and air repeatedly on Spectrum News 1. The hourlong forum was moderated by Spectrum News anchor Curtis Jackson.

To start the forum, Jackson and USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau reporter Jessie Balmert explained what the amendment would do.

Balmert explained Issue 1 would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution up until viability, which is the point when a fetus can survive outside the uterus with reasonable measures, typically around 24 weeks gestation. Doctors could perform abortions after that point to save a pregnant patient's life or health.

If passed, the law would go into effect 30 days after the election.

On the day the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, a law took effect for 82 days in Ohio that prohibited many abortions in the state. Due to a lawsuit, abortions in Ohio are currently legal up to 21 weeks and six days.

Ohio is the only state voting on abortion access this year. Early voting started Oct. 11, and polls will open on Election Day, Nov. 7, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Jackson moderated the discussion with journalists, Tyler Buchanan, co-writer for Axios Columbus, and Karen Kasler, bureau chief for the Statehouse News Bureau. Campaign representatives included Issue 1 supporter Desiree Tims, president and CEO of Innovation Ohio, and Issue 1 opponent Mehek Cooke, spokeswoman for Protect Women Ohio and an attorney.

Buchanan and Kasler asked questions that were submitted by voters.

How do a ‘yes’ vote and a ‘no’ vote specifically address parental consent?

In Ohio, minors can get an abortion if the attending physician has secured the informed written consent of the minor and one parent, guardian or custodian.

There are so many confused voters out there because of the misinformation from the “no” campaign, Tims said. She said children would still have to obtain parental consent for any medical procedure.

“Issue 1 is about the extreme abortion ban that is on the books and our ability to make medical and health care decisions for ourselves and removing politicians from the process,” Tims said.

Cooke said Issue 1 is about protecting parental consent. She said if the amendment was about abortion, the American Civil Liberties Union would have used the word “woman” instead of “individual,” and the ACLU would have stated an age limit to perform an abortion.

“They’re taking away parental consent and notification. They’re allowing for late-term abortions when a baby at 15 weeks can feel pain,” Cooke said.

According to the American College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians, a human fetus does not have the capacity to experience pain until after at least 24 to 25 weeks gestation.

Defining the word ‘health’

Tims said that health care is between the doctor and the patient and politicians shouldn’t be defining one's health.

“Voting 'yes' will ensure that the decisions made in a hospital room are between a doctor and their patient, and a doctor doesn’t have to fear treating his or her patient because of what a politician might say or do in Columbus,” Tims said.

Right now, it is up to the doctor to define what “health" means, which Cooke said is unacceptable.

The amendment's language

The language of the amendment is very clear, Tims said. Issue 1 is about keeping politicians out of decisions. She said right now there is an abortion ban on the books that would ban abortions at six weeks.

“If we do not pass this amendment, that will be the law of the land,” Tims said.

Cooke said every Ohioan should know that the ACLU wrote the amendment and it was very deliberate.

“Let me read to you, ‘Every individual has the right to make its own reproductive decisions,’ they didn’t write every woman,” Cooke said. “Individual means man, child, it could mean anybody, why didn’t they use the word woman, they refuse to answer that question,” Cooke said.

The amendment will ensure the right to birth control, fertility treatments and have the right to one’s body, Tims said.

“This is about ensuring that the control is in your hands and that you can do what you need to do in order to ensure that your health care is prioritized,” Tims said.

Cooke said there already is contraceptive care, and the amendment is about eviscerating parental consent so that children can go through abortions without parental knowledge or consent.

“All of these protections are to serve women and this amendment allows for partial birth, full-term abortions, that’s not where we are today,” Cooke said.

What’s next?

Cooke believes if Issue 1 doesn't pass, there need to be commonsense discussions with those who support abortion rights, those who are anti-abortion and those who are somewhere in between. If it passes, Cooke said, it closes the door on every single discussion, whether it’s parent rights or health and safety standards for women.

Tims hopes for a win and is “focusing on the Buckeye state.”

“This is about ensuring that every Buckeye can stay in the state and access the health care they need without fleeing to another state,” Tims said.

Cooke said the law today states exceptions for the life of a mother, and there is protection for women on the books.

“The reason that this was even on the ballot is because the ACLU spent millions of dollars misleading Ohioans, scaring Ohioans through fear tactics,” Cooke said.

"Ohio Decides: Issue 1 Forum" will air on Spectrum News 1 across the state throughout Election Day. The Ohio Debate Commission will also have the program on its YouTube channel.

Kayla Bennett is a fellow in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism's Statehouse News Bureau.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Watch forum on Ohio Issue 1, abortion and reproductive rights effort