Abortion-Keep Legal, Yes or No?

mickeyrat · October 2023

https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2023/10/what-ohios-proposed-abortion-amendment-really-does-dan-kobil.html

What Ohio’s proposed abortion amendment really does: Dan Kobil

Published: Oct. 04, 2023, 5:17 a.m.

Ohio Solicitor General Benjamin Flowers addresses the Ohio Supreme Court Sept. 27 in a case challenging the temporary stay on Ohio's fetal "heartbeat" abortion law. On the bench, from left: Justices Jennifer Brunner, Michael Donnelly, Patrick Fisher, Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy, and Justices Patrick DeWine and Melody Stewart. Judge Matthew Byrne of the 12th Ohio District Court of Appeals is sitting in, far right, for Justice Joe Deters, who recused himself.

By

Guest Columnist, cleveland.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, it said that each state should decide the scope of abortion rights. This November, Ohio will vote on exactly that: whether to amend our constitution to restore the reproductive freedoms that the court took away in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health.

Following Dobbs, Ohio implemented one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws. It now bans all abortions after cardiac activity can be detected in the fetus — as early as six weeks. This is well before many women even know they are pregnant.

Ohio’s radical prohibition also contains no exceptions for rape or incest. Prior to being temporarily stayed by an Ohio court, these restrictions forced a 10-year-old girl who had been raped to travel to Indiana to terminate her pregnancy so that she was not forced to bear the rapist’s child.

Confronted by a legislature impervious to the hardships imposed on women, the proposed amendment seeks to restore all of the rights cast into doubt when the high court overturned Roe. Dobbs undercut not just a right to abortion, but it also questioned the freedom to obtain contraception, to resist compelled sterilization, and even to engage in consensual sexual activity.

continues....

mickeyrat · October 2023

my devoutly Catholic Governor ladies and gentlemen.

https://twitter.com/DavidPepper/status/1712228079244910811?t=XOIEtc3Cgkl31_NCCoO9eA&s=19

mickeyrat · October 2023

https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/10/27/ohio-democratic-stronghold-counties-exceeding-early-voting-expectations-for-november-election/?emci=3b1c3053-0c74-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&emdi=cf36fb97-af74-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&ceid=312401

Ohio Democratic-stronghold counties exceeding early voting expectations for November election

By: Morgan Trau - October 27, 2023 4:40 am

File photo of early voters at the Franklin County Board of Elections. (Photo by Marty Schladen, Ohio Capital Journal.)

Voters in Democratic-stronghold counties are showing up in mass to vote early for the November election on abortion and marijuana, exceeding the already unexpectedly large turnout from the August special election.

“For these things that are on the ballot right now, which are very important, I just wanted to make sure my vote is in and counted,” voter Ellen Rosenblatt said.

Rosenblatt wanted to decide if abortion and recreational marijuana should be legal. She is one of the tens of thousands of early voters in Cuyahoga County.

Mike West, with the county board of elections, is excited that so many people are interested and showing up for this election.

“We’re gonna have a pretty healthy turnout for this election,” he said.

The best way to compare this typically-municipal-year election is with the recent special election on August 8.

Analysis

Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau reached out to a dozen counties with different political leanings all across the state. She got data and calculated from the 11th day of early voting — which Ohio has data for now. This means that the data comes up to July 25 for the August election and Oct. 25 for the November election.

The reason they are both the 25th is due to the fact that November voters lost a day due to the federal holiday, so a day was removed from July.

Cuyahoga County is seeing about the same for in-person ballots cast but has a large increase in absentee ballots.

“We are way ahead, by around 10,000 vote-by-mail ballot applications,” West said.

continues.....

OnWis97 · October 2023

I love to see unpopular opinions like abortion (and gay marriage about 15 years ago) bring the opposition to the polls.

mickeyrat · October 2023

OnWis97 said:

I love to see unpopular opinions like abortion (and gay marriage about 15 years ago) bring the opposition to the polls.

we smacked down an effort to raise the threshhold for amending our state constitution by a wide margin in the August special election after the gop here outlawed special elections last dec or jan... was still a lot of room for participation too.

cblock4life · October 2023

mickeyrat said:

https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/10/27/ohio-democratic-stronghold-counties-exceeding-early-voting-expectations-for-november-election/?emci=3b1c3053-0c74-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&emdi=cf36fb97-af74-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&ceid=312401

Ohio Democratic-stronghold counties exceeding early voting expectations for November election

By: Morgan Trau - October 27, 2023 4:40 am

File photo of early voters at the Franklin County Board of Elections. (Photo by Marty Schladen, Ohio Capital Journal.)

Voters in Democratic-stronghold counties are showing up in mass to vote early for the November election on abortion and marijuana, exceeding the already unexpectedly large turnout from the August special election.

“For these things that are on the ballot right now, which are very important, I just wanted to make sure my vote is in and counted,” voter Ellen Rosenblatt said.

Rosenblatt wanted to decide if abortion and recreational marijuana should be legal. She is one of the tens of thousands of early voters in Cuyahoga County.

Mike West, with the county board of elections, is excited that so many people are interested and showing up for this election.

“We’re gonna have a pretty healthy turnout for this election,” he said.

The best way to compare this typically-municipal-year election is with the recent special election on August 8.

Analysis

Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau reached out to a dozen counties with different political leanings all across the state. She got data and calculated from the 11th day of early voting — which Ohio has data for now. This means that the data comes up to July 25 for the August election and Oct. 25 for the November election.

The reason they are both the 25th is due to the fact that November voters lost a day due to the federal holiday, so a day was removed from July.

Cuyahoga County is seeing about the same for in-person ballots cast but has a large increase in absentee ballots.

“We are way ahead, by around 10,000 vote-by-mail ballot applications,” West said.

continues.....

There’s still much to be hopeful about.

mickeyrat · November 2023

https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/11/03/ohio-democrats-are-leading-vote-by-mail-ballots-in-election-on-abortion-marijuana/?emci=22720c68-9079-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&emdi=722cfbc1-2f7a-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&ceid=312401

mickeyrat · November 2023

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/03/ohio-republican-election-secretary-of-state-voter-purge

mickeyrat · November 2023

https://twitter.com/piper4missouri/status/1720415663456395304?t=qwqkVTZUlj-S_G69z57hvA&s=19

mickeyrat · November 2023

VOTED!!!

mickeyrat · November 2023

https://twitter.com/piper4missouri/status/1721693224551563497?t=EgAmNirGport53X9dTXItg&s=19

mickeyrat · November 2023

https://apnews.com/article/ohio-abortion-amendment-election-2023-fe3e06747b616507d8ca21ea26485270 Ohio voters enshrine abortion access in constitution in latest statewide win for reproductive rights

Ohio voters enshrine abortion access in constitution in latest statewide win for reproductive rights

By JULIE CARR SMYTH

1 minute ago

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment on Tuesday that ensures access to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care, the latest victory for abortion rights supporters since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

Ohio became the seventh state where voters decided to protect abortion access after the landmark ruling and was the only state to consider a statewide abortion rights question this year.

The outcome of the intense, off-year election could be a bellwether for 2024, when Democrats hope the issue will energize their voters and help President Joe Biden keep the White House. Voters in Arizona, Missouri and elsewhere are expected to vote on similar protections next year.

Ohio’s constitutional amendment, on the ballot as Issue 1, included some of the most protective language for abortion access of any statewide ballot initiative since the Supreme Court’s ruling. Opponents had argued that the amendment would threaten parental rights, allow unrestricted gender surgeries for minors and revive “partial birth” abortions, which are federally banned.

Public polling shows about two-thirds of Americans say abortion should generally be legal in the earliest stages of pregnancy, a sentiment that has been underscored in both Democratic and deeply Republican states since the justices overturned Roe in June 2022.

Before the Ohio vote, statewide initiatives in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana and Vermont had either affirmed abortion access or turned back attempts to undermine the right.

Voter turnout for Ohio’s constitutional amendment, including early voting, was robust for an off-year election. Issue 1’s approval will all but certainly undo a 2019 state law passed by Republicans that bans most abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected, with no exceptions for rape and incest. That law, currently on hold because of court challenges, is one of roughly two dozen restrictions on abortion the Ohio Legislature has passed in recent years.

Issue 1 specifically declared an individual’s right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions,” including birth control, fertility treatments, miscarriage and abortion.

It allowed the state to regulate the procedure after fetal viability, as long as exceptions were provided for cases in which a doctor determined the “life or health” of the woman was at risk. Viability was defined as the point when the fetus had “a significant likelihood of survival” outside the womb, with reasonable interventions.

Anti-abortion groups, with the help of Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, tested a variety of messages to try to defeat the amendment, primarily focusing on the idea that the proposal was too extreme for the state. The supporters’ campaign centered on a message of keeping government out of families’ private affairs.

The latest vote followed an August special election called by the Republican-controlled Legislature that was aimed at making future constitutional changes harder to pass by increasing the threshold from a simple majority vote to 60%. That proposal was aimed in part at undermining the abortion-rights measure decided Tuesday.

Voters overwhelmingly defeated that special election question, setting the stage for the high-stakes fall abortion campaign.

___

Associated Press writer Samantha Hendrickson in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, contributed to this report.

mickeyrat · November 2023

https://twitter.com/realTuckFrumper/status/1722099015570055365?t=RJu-jnRfO4TYTia6lUm-pw&s=19

mickeyrat · November 2023

https://twitter.com/ResisterSis20/status/1722408164946051329?t=WvqY4BRXBB-31kADfA-uzA&s=19

mickeyrat · November 2023

will put this here as it pertains to reproductive health care

https://twitter.com/LqLana/status/1722678941234651386?t=ouOsCLckSkZC2RK_eU7Esg&s=19

mickeyrat · November 2023

https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1723061338715349227?t=35loR42vC0lQJvTJCA7-JQ&s=19

https://ohiohouse.gov/news/republican/deceptive-ohio-issue-1-misled-the-public-but-doesnt-repeal-our-laws-117412

actual amendment language within this article

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/politics/2023/10/16/ohio-issue-1-text-read-the-abortion-rights-amendment/71082117007/

mickeyrat · November 2023

https://twitter.com/RachelCoyleOhio/status/1723022365531992539?t=yHpLXKBVKQVJ2IAm-3RUog&s=19

mickeyrat · November 2023

https://twitter.com/DC_DeWitt/status/1725135590767857785?t=tLzifalRD0YSnf6enKV56A&s=19

mickeyrat · November 2023

ouch

https://twitter.com/jethrostudio/status/1725611659819934026?t=D81Q6GuwvHCHGFatnnj86Q&s=19

mickeyrat · November 2023

https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2023-11-17/attorney-general-who-opposed-issue-1-will-likely-argue-in-court-it-erases-six-week-abortion-ban

Attorney General who opposed Issue 1 will likely argue in court it erases six-week abortion ban The Statehouse News Bureau | By Karen Kasler

Published November 17, 2023 at 3:29 PM EST

Attorney General Dave Yost speaking at a get out the vote event at Ohio Republican Party headquarters on Oct 7 2023 the weekend before early voting began for the Nov 7 election on a constitutional amendment on abortion access and reproductive rights

Karen Kasler

/

Statehouse News Bureau

Attorney General Dave Yost speaking at a "get out the vote" event at Ohio Republican Party headquarters on Oct. 7, 2023, the weekend before early voting began for the Nov. 7 election on a constitutional amendment on abortion access and reproductive rights.

The Ohio Supreme Court is asking the parties involved in a lawsuit over Ohio’s law banning abortion after six weeks to submit arguments on what effect, if any, the abortion and reproductive rights amendment approved in Issue 1 has on that case. And it’s looking like the attorney for the state is going to have to make an argument he said he personally disagrees with.

Attorney General Dave Yost hasn’t filed those arguments yet, but said this to a group at Ohio Republican Party headquarters just before early voting started.

"Somebody actually said this – "I’m not really worried about Issue 1 because we’ll still have the ‘heartbeat bill’." No, we won’t," he told the GOP volunteers.

That goes along with his office’s legal analysis of Issue 1. That analysis said approval of Issue 1 would invalidate the six-week ban. That ban does not include any exceptions for rape or incest.

The analysis, ordered by Yost and written by attorneys and staff, detailed some of the laws that would be affected if Issue 1 is approved. Of the so-called "Heartbeat Act", the analysis said: “Some of Ohio’s laws may be defensible, but the Heartbeat Act would not exist if Issue 1 passes. Ohio would no longer have the ability to limit abortions at any time before a fetus is viable. Viability is generally thought to be around 21 or 22 weeks. Passage of Issue 1 would invalidate the Heartbeat Act, which restricts abortions (with health and other exceptions) after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is usually at about six weeks. No other pre-viability limit would be allowed.”

Yost’s office said in an email: “We have been ordered to brief these questions, and will do so. We will speak through the brief.” The office also pointed to language in the legal analysis on Issue 1 regarding the six-week ban.

Yost also posted on social media this week: “Having thoroughly scoured the Constitution, I find no exception for matters in which the outcome of an election is contrary to the preferences of those in power.”

The amendment approved by 57% of voters guarantees abortion access, but says it can be prohibited after fetal viability.

Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis also said Issue 1 will mean the six-week ban is unconstitutional: “I believe, yes, it will, because the Constitution trumps state law.”

And in that interview for "The State of Ohio", Gonidakis also said he believes the current ban on abortion after viability, the so-called "Pain Capable" Act which he helped draft in 2016, will stand—and he said he thinks that's what voters want.

"I think we can find some common ground, and I believe it would be our 20-week ban," Gonidakis said. "Our mission is to protect life from conception to natural death. But if that's what we can live with presently, and we'll have to continue to change hearts and minds."

Nearly all abortions happen before 20 weeks. The 2022 Ohio Abortion Report shows 89% of abortions were conducted before the 13th week of pregnancy. Only 0.6% of abortions were performed between 21 and 24 weeks, and there were none after that point.

"I firmly believe if we would have stopped at the 'Pain Capable' law, we would we would have been successful last week," Gonidakis said.