Ohio Abortion Rights Campaign Enters Final Phase to Pass Crucial Ballot Measure
Columbus, OH — In two weeks, Ohio voters will head to the polls to decide on a crucial ballot measure to secure their reproductive rights. Early voting is already underway for Issue 1, the Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion Initiative.
Issue 1 asserts that every individual in the state of Ohio has the constitutional right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion.”
“The rollback of federal protections for abortion rights in 2022 was unprecedented and devastating. But what has been incredibly inspiring is how voters are fighting for their rights with ballot measures in state after state,” said Fairness Project Executive Director Kelly Hall. “Now, it’s Ohioans’ turn to defend abortion at the ballot. The Fairness Project is proud to support Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights in their campaign to ensure voters say YES to Issue 1 this November and reject extremist calls to ban abortion in their state and around the country.”
Ohio’s election in November marks the fourth state where voters have had the opportunity to enshrine reproductive rights in their state’s constitution via ballot measure since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, after California, Vermont, and Michigan passed similar measures in November 2022. Advocates in other states, including Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and Florida, are organizing to put measures on the ballot for 2024.
The Fairness Project is supporting Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights in their effort to pass Issue 1, continuing recent work to support ballot measures following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The Fairness Project worked in 2022 to support the successful citizen-initiated Michigan Reproductive Freedom for All campaign as well as the legislatively referred measure supported by Vermont for Reproductive Freedom. It is currently working to support Arizona for Abortion Access as it works to collect nearly 400,000 signatures to qualify a ballot measure for 2024.
The Fairness Project was also part of the large and diverse coalition to defeat a proposal earlier this summer that would have allowed just 40% of voters to veto popular measures in Ohio. That attempt by right-wing extremists and special interests to entrench minority rule was rejected by voters in August.