How this could affect abortion
This referendum comes just three months before Ohioans will vote on another referendum that will decide whether to establish a constitutional right to “reproductive freedom,” which would include abortion up to the point of viability.
With the Aug. 8 initiative failing, pro-abortion advocates will only need to obtain a simple majority of the vote rather than reach the 60% threshold that would have otherwise been required if voters had approved Issue 1.
The Nov. 7 abortion referendum would amend the state’s Bill of Rights to add an entirely new section of rights: “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety.”
If the abortion proposal passes, it would ensure that “every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions.” This would include, but not be limited to, abortion, contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriage care, and continuing one’s pregnancy.
The proposal would prohibit the government from directly or indirectly burdening, penalizing, prohibiting, interfering with, or discriminating against “an individual’s voluntary exercise of this right” or “a person or entity that assists an individual exercising this right.”