The Republican Crusade Against Issue 1: Ohio's Reproductive Freedom Amendment

(lengthy, disturbing, important read)


The Republican Crusade Against Issue 1: Ohio’s Reproductive Freedom Amendment
11/3/2023 by Morgan Carmen
To counter Republican and anti-choice talking points about Issue 1, Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights focus on personal medical freedom—and urge voters to vote yes.



ohio-republicans-abortion-issue-1-reproductive-freedom-amendmentAbortion rights supporters attend at Bans Off Day of Action in Columbus on Oct. 9. (Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights / Facebook)

In the face of a referendum that could add a right to reproductive freedom to the Ohio constitution, state Republicans have organized a campaign to confuse voters and undermine the democratic process.

After Roe fell last summer and a six-week abortion ban went into effect in the state, Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights (OPRR) and other pro-choice advocates turned their focus to a citizen-initiated ballot measure.

As OPRR started collecting signatures to make sure the Reproductive Freedom Amendment would be on the ballot in November, state Republicans started plotting.
. . . .

First, the Ohio Ballot Board, chaired by Secretary LaRose, decided to present a summary of the amendment on the ballot, rather than the actual amendment. The Ballot Board’s summary used words like “unborn child” instead of “fetus” and originally suggested that the amendment would limit the actions of private citizens, among other changes. Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights challenged the ballot language in court as misleading; those who are in favor of the Reproductive Freedom Amendment could be puzzled by the anti-choice language (“unborn child”) or the fact that this description says that the amendment covers a right to “one’s own reproductive medical treatment” when the actual amendment covers a broad range of reproductive health care decisions, they argued. In late September, the Ohio supreme court left most of the Ballot Board’s summary intact. The only change was a clarification that the amendment will only impact state interference with reproductive decision-making.

https://msmagazine.com/2023/11/03/ohio-republicans-abortion-issue-1-reproductive-freedom-amendment/