Ohio to Vote Nov. 7 on Controversial Amendment: 'The Most Radical Abortion Policy in the Union'

Ohio voters will decide on Nov. 7 whether to amend the state's Constitution, guaranteeing the right to an abortion. 

"We do not have to have the most radical abortion policy in the union," said Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). 

Activists on both sides of the measure known as Issue One are spending millions to win this political battle. Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life believes the amendment will also diminish health standards for women. 

"Overnight, Ohio can go from being on of the most pro-life states in the country to one of the most pro-abortion states in the country," Mancini said. "Let's be clear, we're talking about painful late-term abortions." 

Protect Women Ohio, a pro-life coalition, has raised more than $16 million to warn the public that Issue One would also remove parental rights if their child seeks an abortion or even a sex change operation. Several legal experts and ACLU Ohio maintain those claims are false. 

"The amendment provides the right to make and carry out one's own reproductive decisions," said Freda Levenson, legal director of ACLU Ohio. "It's literally limited to that. Sexual identity is not reproduction." 

Protect Women Ohio also charges abortion is historically racist, disproportionately targeting women of color. A recent statistic from Ohio's Health Department (2021), says black babies in Ohio are five times more likely to be aborted than white babies. 

More than 100 black faith and community leaders are asking voters in an open letter to stand against the measure.

Furthermore, Ohio's Department of Health indicates abortions of black women make up 48% of the state's total, while only 13% of the state's population is black. 

Meanwhile, supporters of Issue One raised more than $10 million with top donors, including the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Planned Parenthood Action Fund. 

Peter Range, CEO of Ohio Right to Life told CBN News the issue stands in opposition to his faith. 

"The Left has money on their side. They have media on their side," said Range. "But we have science and the truth that it is a pre-born child in the women. And we also have God. Our state motto here is, 'With God all things are possible,'" said Range. 

As individual states like Ohio are now deciding on the issue of abortion, Vance stands behind a national bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks. 

"Sen. Graham is proposing pain-capable, sort of a late-term abortion ban at the federal level," said Vance. "I think that's the right approach  to let the federal government do that and let the states figure it out from there." 

Many analysts are using Ohio as a strong gauge of what's to come next year when campaigns seek to amend state constitutions to strengthen abortion measures in states like New York and Maryland. 

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