Ohio has announced that supporters of abortion rights have successfully met the signature requirement to include a measure on the November 7 ballot, which would establish abortion rights in the state constitution.
The Secretary of State for Ohio, Frank LaRose (R), has certified that the petitioners have collected a total of 495,938 valid signatures, exceeding the required minimum of 413,446 signatures. This number is equivalent to 10 percent of the total votes received for the governor’s office in the previous election. These signatures were gathered from all 55 counties in Ohio, surpassing the minimum requirement of at least 44 counties.
Earlier this month, the coalition had announced that they had submitted over 700,000 signatures to place the measure on the ballot.
If passed, the amendment would establish a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” with “reasonable limits.” Similar to the previous standard set by Roe v. Wade, the amendment would allow abortion up until the point when a fetus can survive outside of the womb, typically around 24 weeks into pregnancy.
The proposed amendment declares that “every individual has the right to make and carry out their own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing their own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion.”
The language of the amendment has been previously approved by the state’s ballot board and attorney general.
Ohio passed a six-week abortion ban following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade last year, but a state court halted the ban in the fall.
“Today marked an important victory for women in Ohio, and we are proud to have played our part,” said Elizabeth Walters, Chairwoman of the Ohio Democratic Party. She added, “Politicians who are out of touch continue to attack women’s fundamental rights, interfering in their personal, medical decisions, and paving the way for a total abortion ban in Ohio.”
Last month, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a controversial special election scheduled for August can proceed as planned. This election will seek to raise the threshold for future measures to a 60 percent supermajority. According to The Associated Press, amendments related to abortion in various states have garnered support between 50 and 60 percent, since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling last year.
Abortion advocates have expressed concerns about the August special election, believing it would make it more difficult for the amendment to pass in November.
In a recent poll conducted by the USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University, nearly 60 percent of Ohio voters expressed support for the abortion rights amendment. The poll showed that support for the amendment largely aligns with party lines, with 81 percent of Democrats in favor, 32 percent of Republicans in favor, and 70 percent of independents supporting the measure.
“Every person deserves respect, dignity, and the right to make reproductive health care decisions, including those related to their own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion, free from government interference,” stated Lauren Blauvelt and Dr. Lauren Beene, members of the Executive Committee for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights.
LaRose has announced that he will instruct the Ohio Board of Elections to include the amendment on the general election ballot in November.
LaRose recently launched his campaign for the U.S. Senate, joining two other major Republican candidates who are seeking to fill the seat of Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).
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