Ohio Republicans are claiming a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights, which was approved by voters in Tuesday’s election, doesn’t actually do that — and they’re promising to take steps to prevent the legal protection of reproductive freedom in the state. “To prevent mischief by pro-abortion courts with Issue 1, Ohio legislators will consider removing jurisdiction from the judiciary over this ambiguous ballot initiative,” Ohio House Republicans wrote in a statement released Thursday.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – National abortion opponents used Ohio as a test market this year as they continued their search for a way to defeat abortion access at the ballot box. Ahead of Tuesday’s election, they took a scattershot approach to trying to defeat state Issue 1. Like in other states, they first tried to tie the measure to myriad, non-abortion related issues, such as gender identity, parental consent laws and even human trafficking. They largely dropped the claims, determining voters didn’t find them believable. In a completely new approach for...

Several Republican lawmakers plan to fight the recently approved abortion rights amendment by trying to overthrow the judicial branch's authority to interpret it. Ohio voters approved protections for abortion and other reproductive rights, 57-43%, Tuesday. Abortion rights advocates will soon head to court to repeal restrictions and bans on the procedure. But four GOP lawmakers had another idea.

Voters in Ohio Tuesday night approved Issue 1, enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution. Hamilton County voters supported the measure by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, but as the map shows, there was a stark divide. With small exceptions, the city of Cincinnati and eastern suburbs supported Issue 1, while western suburbs opposed it. Voters in Ohio − an increasingly red state that backed former President Donald Trump twice – decided that they want doctors, not politicians, making the tough calls about their reproductive decisions. Issue 1 passed 57-43%, according...

SOUTH BEND, Ind - Ohio just became Indiana's latest neighbor to pass an amendment embedding abortion rights in its state constitution. “It's a very chilling amendment because it legalizes abortion through all 9 months of pregnancy for essentially any reason, and if you're a minor, you can have an abortion without parental notification," said Melanie Garcia Lyon, Executive Director of Voices for Life Indiana has essentially become an island in terms of abortion rights, with neighboring states like Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan all having unrestricted access to abortion care. This...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Ohio voters passed an issue earlier this week to enshrine abortion access into the state constitution, and behind the effort was one Arkansan. “What I saw in Ohio was a pushback against government interference in the lives of everyday Ohioans,” Judson Scanlon said. For Scanlon, the issue is an important one. Coming from Arkansas, which is said to be the most pro-life state in the nation, Scanlon said it has always been an uphill battle to fight for reproductive rights. “Frankly, there’s a part of me...

Ohio is the latest state trounced by pro-abortion activists after the fall of Roe v. Wade last year, with voters choosing to codify the “right” to abortion in their state constitution on Tuesday. After the fall of Roe, which had invented a federal “right” to abortion in the Constitution, abortion was returned to individual states and their elected representatives, changing the nature of the struggle between the pro-life movement and the abortion industry.

Abortion rights advocates have now racked up seven consecutive wins since the fall of Roe v. Wade when voters have weighed in directly on reproductive rights. Next year, they’re hoping to build on that momentum. The approval of Ohio’s Issue 1, the latest measure to enshrine abortion rights in a state constitution, is yet another sign that abortion is a winning issue for groups gathering signatures for even more reproductive rights amendments in 2024. The ballot initiative process is not available in all states. But for months, coalitions have been...

After Ohio voters on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment protecting the right to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care, advocates on both sides of the issue are looking at how they can get support on 2024 ballots in at least a dozen states. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that had protected abortion rights nationally, voters in all seven states that held a statewide vote have backed access. That includes Ohio, where voters Tuesday enshrined abortion access in the state constitution. Constitutional...

WASHINGTON -- A proposal to enshrine abortion rights in Ohio's Constitution was approved in a statewide election Tuesday, with a significant number of Republicans joining with Democrats to ensure the measure's passage. When the Associated Press called the race, votes cast in favor of the proposal were winning with about 56% of the vote, compared with about 44% for votes cast in opposition -- a lead of approximately 232,000 votes as of the Tuesday night tally. Known as "Issue 1," the proposal would amend the state Constitution to establish the...