Page 9 - Stephen Billy News Today

Life News

Millions of dollars are being funneled into the two Ohio special elections revolving around whether the state will adopt an amendment to prohibit state intervention in abortion and reproductive rights, such as access to contraception.

An Ohio measure that would codify abortion access in the state's constitution has qualified for the November ballot, but its fate may be determined by the outcome of a special election in August that raises the threshold for amending the state's constitution.

Ohioans are equally split on the issue of whether to increase the threshold to amend the state constitution to a 60% majority, a question with major implications for the future of abortion in the Buckeye State.

The measure would legalize abortion up to the point of viability unless a doctor decided an abortion was necessary for the sake of the mother's life or health.

Anti-abortion groups say that the amendment to enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio state constitution is a trial run for abortion rights advocacy groups to try similar means in other states across the country that have enacted legislative protections for unborn children.

Activists have used citizen-led initiatives to put constitutional amendment referendums on the ballot that could enact a wide range of pro-abortion policies.

Referendum votes in New York and Maryland are already slated for Nov. 5, 2024.

GOP lawmakers in North Carolina and Nebraska are casting new 12-week bans as “mainstream,” while Democrats say they are “cruel and extreme.”

Immediately after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republican lawmakers were quick to embrace so-called trigger bans, designed to take effect as soon as the decision was released, while others rushed to pass additional restrictions.