Ohio abortion activists deceive citizens with constitutional amendment that endangers unborn lives and parental rights.

Jordan BoydMay 23, 2023

Pro-Abortion Groups Push to Enshrine Abortion in Ohio Constitution

Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, a coalition of eight pro-abortion and LGBT groups, along with Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, are proposing an amendment to the Ohio state constitution that would not only threaten the lives of unborn babies but also pose a risk to the rights of parents. The initiative would enshrine abortion under the premise that “every individual has a right” to ending life in the womb and other “reproductive decisions.”

The proposed amendment claims that abortion could still be banned by the Ohio legislature after fetal viability, which occurs around 20 weeks gestation, but carved out an exception for any abortions deemed necessary by a doctor to “protect the pregnant patient’s life or health.”

Several pro-life groups have warned voters that the vagueness of the abortion amendment opens the door for not just an assault on unborn lives, but also on parental rights. Protect Women Ohio specifically asserts that the amendment’s language barring the state from interfering with an individual’s “right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions” could easily “cut” parents “out of the biggest decision” of their child’s life, including abortion or even the deforming genital surgeries and chemical castration that transgender activists promote to vulnerable teens.

Ohio Republicans Fight for Democracy

Ohio Republicans passed a resolution on May 10 that will let voters decide in an August special election if constitutional amendments should only pass with a supermajority, 60 percent threshold vote. This effort aims to prevent the flippant passage of constitutional changes and protect Ohioans and the state constitution from the influences of special interest groups.

Despite this, abortion shills have tried to stifle the August election, but their attempts have been rejected by Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Republicans. Ohio law currently states voters can amend the state constitution with only a simple majority vote, something that abortion activists desperately want to keep ahead of the expected vote on the abortion amendment in November.

Deception and Duplicity

Abortion shills in Kansas used a similar playbook to deceive voters into rejecting a proposal that would have declared there is no constitutional right in Kansas to abortion, taxpayer-funded or otherwise. With the help of out-of-state donors and outside groups, opponents of the pro-life amendment raised millions to fund lies and expand Midwestern abortion operations.

Protecting Unborn Lives and Parental Rights

Several opponents of the GOP have tried to smear their efforts to enable voters to prevent the passage of constitutional changes. Paid Planned Parenthood activist and chair of Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, Lauren Blauvelt, accused the lawmakers of “working overtime to dismantle democracy as we know it.”

Ohio Republicans are fighting for democracy and protecting unborn lives and parental rights. The proposed supermajority amendment “merely asks Ohioans if they want to approve a 60% threshold or not by voting in a free and fair election,” said Rep. Brian Stewart. “It’s not the end of the debate.”

References:

Protect Women Ohio Launches $5M Ad Campaign to Keep Ohio Safe for Women, Girls, and Babies

Industry’s new anti-parent amendment in Ohio, Protect Women Ohio has launched a $5M ad campaign to keep Ohio safe for women, girls, and babies. pic.twitter.com/GGYCFey9Gy

– Protect Women Ohio (@ProtectWomenOH) March 15, 2023

Protect Women Ohio has launched a $5M ad campaign to keep Ohio safe for women, girls, and babies in response to the industry’s new anti-parent amendment in Ohio. The amendment has sparked controversy as it could be interpreted to include transgender interventions that have a direct effect on a person’s reproductive abilities.

Fact-Check Controversy

A local news “fact-check” of the advertisement deemed PWO’s claim false because the amendment “says nothing about transgender or parental rights.” However, the article failed to mention that the explicit goal of several of the amendment’s proponents is to eradicate laws that require minors to obtain parental consent before undergoing an abortion.

Opposition to Parental Consent Legislation

Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, a member of the ORF coalition and proud supporter of “sex-positive, gender-expansive, and abortion positive” policies, openly opposes parental consent legislation. The group has repeatedly advocated for abolishing laws that require parents to sign off on minors’ weighty decisions, including getting abortions.

In 2021, an Ohio state coordinator with URGE lambasted the Buckeye State specifically for requiring a minor to “obtain parental consent or go through a cumbersome and traumatizing process of getting a judicial bypass from the state” to end her unborn baby’s life.
URGE tweeted in July 2020, “Your daily reminder that parental involvement laws are unethical and must be abolished. Every pregnant person deserves full autonomy over their body and pregnancy, regardless of their age or family situation.”
In 2019, the group painted parental rights rules as “unnecessary restrictions” that contribute to the “unique barriers” minors seeking abortions might face. URGE specifically committed to “mobilize on state and local levels” to ensure their anti-parent agenda would be accomplished.

Planned Parenthood’s Stance

Planned Parenthood also claimed parental consent laws put “youth at heightened risk.”

URGE’s Anti-Parent Agenda

To this day, URGE’s website features several articles promoting the end of parental rights when it comes to abortion.

Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and co-producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on Twitter @jordanboydtx.

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