Mark Niquette | Bloomberg News (TNS)
Ohio voters decide Tuesday if access to abortion care should be enshrined in the state’s constitution. It’ll be closely watched nationally as a gauge of a key issue ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential elections.
Ohioans are considering a proposed amendment, called Issue 1, to prevent the state from interfering with reproductive decisions, including contraception, while allowing abortion bans with exceptions after fetal viability. It’s the only state with the issue on the ballot this fall.
If Issue 1 is successful in Ohio — a state that Donald Trump won twice easily — it’ll suggest that strict bans are out of step with a majority of voters and abortion rights could motivate Democrats and divide Republicans in the 2024 elections. If defeated, it could embolden Republicans, bolstering efforts to defeat similar measures in other states next year.
“If Ohio is unable to resist this sort of amendment, then I would assume a good chunk of states are in the same position,” said Mark Caleb Smith, director of the Center for Political Studies at Cedarville University. “If Ohio passes this, then I think this is going to be a very complicated issue for Republicans as they move forward.”
Republicans are adjusting to a new landscape when it comes to voter views on abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court last year. The rollback of rights across the country prompted protests and boosted support for abortion access. Meanwhile, Republicans’ anti-abortion stance was among reasons for the GOP’s underwhelming showing in the midterm elections.
Anti-abortion referendums were defeated last year in Kansas, Kentucky and Montana, and abortion-rights measures passed in California, Michigan and Vermont.
No Exceptions
Ohio’s law that’s on hold pending a legal challenge currently bans abortions after about six weeks — before many women know they’re pregnant — with no exceptions for rape, incest and…
Read the full article here
