The Health Care Civil Rights Task Force urges Ohioans to vote no on Issue 1, the Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment, which would enshrine nearly limitless abortion rights in the state constitution. The Amendment needs only a simple majority of votes to pass – so every vote counts!
If passed, Issue 1 will eliminate virtually all constraints on abortion prior to viability, which is when the baby is able to survive outside the womb. Viability typically occurs at approximately 24 to 26 weeks’ gestation. Babies at this age are over 14 inches long and fully developed. While Issue 1 allows for restrictions on abortion after the age of viability, the Amendment includes a gaping exception for the health of the mother. This is not limited to physical health, but can encompass mental, emotional, social, financial, familial, and even educational factors. In short, Issue 1 allows for abortion until birth in a wide range of circumstances.
According to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Issue 1 has devastating implications for essential protections in Ohio and would not just “restore Roe,” but goes much further. For example, Issue 1 expressly states that the State can only regulate abortion to advance the mother’s health. Any law enacted to protect “long-recognized interests in fetal life or in medical ethics” would be invalid.
Ohio currently prohibits abortions motivated solely because of a Down syndrome diagnosis. This law would be rendered invalid under Issue 1. Gruesome dismemberment abortions and partial birth abortions that can result in babies born alive during abortion are unlawful in Ohio – but will be permitted if Issue 1 passes. Moreover, common sense informed consent laws that require abortionists to provide women with information about the procedure and its risks would be challenged and likely struck down.
The rights created by Issue 1 are not limited to adults but can also be asserted by minor children – even against their parents. The language of the Amendment is broad enough to include a myriad of so-called “reproductive decisions,” including the right to sex change surgery and hormones.
“Reproductive freedom” amendments like this are the latest tactic of abortion extremists to circumvent state laws regulating abortion. The Ohio Amendment is the first such ballot measure in a state that has enacted strong pro-life protections – but it won’t be the last. Similar efforts are underway in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.
Vote NO on Issue 1 to protect the sanctity of life.
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