A group of pro-life advocates filed a lawsuit requesting that the Ohio Supreme Court block a proposal to enshrine abortion into the state constitution.
The Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, a coalition of radical pro–abortion activists that includes Planned Parenthood, Pro–Choice Ohio, the Abortion Fund of Ohio, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio, along with the Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights has proposed “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety” which would add a Section 22 to Article 1 of the state Constitution.
The proposal would remove Ohio’s parental notification legislation when a minor wants an abortion and the requirement that abortionists adhere to fundamental hospital health and safety standards. The proposal also aims to permit abortions after babies have heartbeats and can feel pain.
The coalition needed to gather over 413,000 signatures from registered voters in at least 44 counties, which equals 10 percent of the votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election before July 5th, to get the amendment on the November ballot.
Last week, the Ohio Secretary of State‘s Office certified that the petition submitted by the coalition of pro-abortion activists contained enough valid signatures for placement on the November ballot.
Attorney Curt Hartman filed the lawsuit on behalf of former State Representative Tom Brinkman from Cincinnati and former legislative candidate Jennifer Giroux who said that the Ohio Supreme Court should block the proposal as the submitted petition fails to specify which state laws would need to be abolished if voters approved the constitutional amendment.
The lawsuit notes that the amendment will nullify portions of current Ohio laws, such as the Human Rights and Heartbeat Protection Act, which lawmakers passed in 2019 and forbids abortion in Ohio after the detection of any fetal cardiac activity.
A Hamilton County judge put the heartbeat law on hold while pro-abortion advocates challenged it. Currently, abortion is legal for up to 22 weeks.
According to the lawsuit, the petition is invalid because it didn’t specify these initiatives. Thus, pro-abortion advocates cannot put it on the ballot in November.
The Ohio Star contacted Brinkman and Grioux for comment but did not receive a reply before press time.
Pro-abortion activists said they have met every requirement necessary for placement on the ballot.
“Once the Court reviews all of the relevant facts, we expect this challenge to be rejected,” Ohioans for Reproductive Rights said.
The number of votes needed to pass the abortion rights amendment is yet unknown. During an August 8th special election, Ohio voters will decide if the threshold to amend the state Constitution should increase from 50 percent plus one to 60 percent through State Issue 1.
If approved by voters, the August proposal would mandate a 60 percent approval percentage for any future constitutional amendments, call for signatures from all 88 counties, and do away with the opportunity to “cure” petitions by collecting additional signatures if necessary.
Protect Women Ohio, a pro-life coalition, spent an initial $8 million on television, radio, and digital advertisements to pass Issue 1 in August and protect Ohio’s constitution from out-of-state special interest groups and to defeat the ACLU’s radical anti-parent initiative in November.
According to Protect Women Ohio, the proposed abortion amendment is dangerous, and Ohioans are starting to see it through their efforts.
“Ohioans are waking up to the dangers of the ACLU’s anti-parent amendment and they are terrified—and rightfully so. The extreme amendment places parental rights on the chopping block by permitting minors to undergo abortions and sex change procedures without their parents’ knowledge or consent, removes health and safety protections for women, and allows painful abortion up until birth. PWO will continue to shine a light on the ACLU’s disastrous agenda until it is defeated in November,” Protect Women Ohio press secretary Amy Natoce said.
Protect Women Ohio said it will not stop fighting until voters defeat the abortion amendment in November.
– – –
Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star, The Star News Network, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Abortion Supporters” by Becker1999. CC BY 2.0.
