Abortion up until birth, the erosion of parental rights, and a whole host of other horrors are enshrined in the Ohio Constitution after a majority of voters agreed to pass Issue 1 on Tuesday.
Thanks to the activists who poured millions of dollars into deceiving voters about what “every individual has a right” to ending life in the womb and other “reproductive decisions” really means, Issue 1 will fundamentally and permanently change the way Ohio operates.
Ohio is a red state with a Republican legislature, governor, and attorney general that would never agree to sign off on unlimited abortion for all. The passage of the state’s latest sweeping constitutional amendment was only possible because outside groups like the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and other leftist organizations used the state’s ballot measure process to circumvent those elected officials.
If Ohio, one of the reddest states on paper, can succumb to the scheming of abortion activists, then no Republican state is safe. Here’s how pro-lifers everywhere should protect their states from the people who want to turn their hometowns into the abortion industry’s next boomtowns.
Tell the Truth Starting Now
It’s important that voters in every state, not just those threatened by imminent abortion amendments, understand that Democrats want to legalize killing unborn babies throughout all nine months of gestation.
A majority of U.S. adults reject that position. Yet, many Americans do not equate Democrats’ euphemistic calls for “reproductive rights” free-for-alls with late-term abortions because pollsters and abortion advocates twist the language.
Ohio’s example proves this. In the weeks leading up to the Issue 1 vote, a majority of Ohioans claimed to view unlimited abortion through birth as unfavorable. Their votes to amend the state constitution to allow for unlimited abortion suggest they did not understand the issue at hand.
Everyone, not just pro-lifers, should be acquainted with the fact that Americans don’t care for abortion beyond the first trimester long before a ballot proposal forces them to.
Fortify the Constitutional Amendment Process Early
Republican-controlled states should consider reevaluating the merits of their constitutional amendment process long before they think they will become targets. Once national donors, Democrats, and corporate media get wind of the attempt to secure the ballot measure portion of their elections, it’s hard to stop the left’s deception and lies from tainting any attempts at reform.
Republicans in Ohio tried to tighten up their ballot proposal standards by asking voters to raise the simple majority threshold to a 60 percent supermajority a few months before the Nov. 7 vote but it was too late. By the time the state’s special election rolled around in August, abortion activists had successfully taken control of the narrative.
Local Ohio papers, corporate media outlets, and the groups touting the pro-abortion and gender ideology proposal smeared the GOP government for committing to “elevating the standards.” Planned Parenthood activist Lauren Blauvelt, who is also chair of an Ohio pro-abortion group, went so far as to accuse lawmakers of “working overtime to dismantle democracy as we know it.”
The issue that proposed raising the vote threshold for amendment passage was defeated 57 percent to 43 percent.
Fight for Clear Language
If an unlimited abortion constitutional amendment does make it onto a red state’s ballot, pro-lifers everywhere should insist on clear language.
Ohio’s deliberately vague proposal, as The New York Times admitted (albeit way too late into the election cycle), left even the most staunch of abortion activists scratching their heads. It also opened the door for all sorts of legal abuses.
Issue 1’s undefined terms such as “individual” and “reproductive decisions” will inevitably be exploited to justify a multitude of harmful decisions for men, women, and children alike. Similarly, the section that supposedly lets the legislature restrict abortion after “fetal viability” allows the subjective judgment of a doctor to override those restrictions, so long as he deems the abortion necessary for a woman’s “health,” a term that isn’t limited to physical health and could be interpreted by a pro-abortion doctor as vague emotional well-being.
Fighting for less “confusing” language, even if it means facing a court challenge. is worth it. Even if the appeal fails, it gives pro-life groups more fodder to call out abortion activists’ deception.
Watch for Weed
Single-issue voters don’t usually care to show up on odd election years but marijuana historically brings people to the polls in masses. Republicans who want to protect their states should be wary of any push, especially from the left, to use the “cannabis coattails” to goad voters into making a rash decision about enshrining abortion up until birth in the state constitution.
Leftists who wanted Issue 1 in Ohio to get extra attention even in an off-year were more than happy to welcome a ballot measure about weed as Issue 2 because it brought more publicity, money, and young voters to the voting booth. Their efforts were rewarded with high turnout.
Support a Federal 15-Week Abortion Limit
A national ban on abortions beyond 15 weeks, when unborn babies already have heartbeats and pain receptors, would save Republicans in blue or purple states the uphill battle over pro-life legislation. It would also act as a deterrent against abortion activists who try to abuse state systems to advance abortion for all.
The likelihood that the currently Democrat-controlled Senate or even the Republican-controlled House would throw their weight behind a 15-week limit is slim but that shouldn’t stop pro-lifers from championing the popularity and effectiveness of such restrictions.
