Ohio lawmakers grapple over abortion amendment

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Reproductive rights have been enshrined in the state’s constitution for nearly five months now, but there are still old laws in the books being challenged in courts here in Columbus and new ideas being proposed.   

When voters approved the constitutional amendment back in November, they legalized abortion to the point of fetal viability, along with several other reproductive rights.

But some groups like the Center for Christian Virtue (CCV) said every abortion is a “child's life lost.”

“We cannot abandon this issue and run away from the importance of protecting life,” CCV President Aaron Baer said. 

Baer said more can be done to shift the culture in the state from what he called a “pro-abortion” mentality. He said some of that work can be done in public schools. 

“These are taxpayer funded schools, our lawmakers have no requirement to just close their eyes and sent their money off to Columbus public and say do with it what you want,” he said. 

He suggested lawmakers outlining to schools what types of sex-education can be taught, as not to “indoctrinate” students. The state releases an annual report about the number of abortions that happen throughout the year. Baer also said that information should be more readily available. 

“We were able to get COVID test data the next day, I think we should be able to have a sense of how many children are losing their lives in the state faster than a year out,” Baer said. 

“They’re doing that as a way to try and complicate the doctors and nurses, the medical professionals who offer that care,” Gabriel Mann, communications for Pro-Choice Ohio said. “If they were pushing those government restrictions on any other form of healthcare, the medical community would be up in arms about that idea. No one actually needs that.” 

Mann said he thinks the state’s annual “comprehensive” report is sufficient enough.   

“Anything more than that would essentially be creating red tape on abortion providers,” Mann said. “Voters have said they don’t want to see government interference.” 

Mann said his group’s focus moving forward is removing barriers that are currently in state law. He said for example, the one that requires a woman to wait 24-hours between her first doctor’s appointment and abortion.  

“The 24-hour waiting period is actually an obstacle that prevents people from being able to access care,” Mann said. “When they need to get a second visits worth of transportation, maybe they have kids at home, and they need to get childcare, or they need to get time off of work. Those are the broad implications.”
 

Technically, the constitutional amendment does not address the 24-hour waiting period, it rather creates broad protections. 

In this court filing, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost argues that the 24-hour still stands because it does not prevent doctors from performing abortions, but rather adds requirements that “ensure that the woman is acting voluntarily after sufficient consideration.” 

“He’s flat out wrong,” Mann said. “Ohio voters understood that when they went to the polls in November of 2023, they were protecting abortion rights.”
 

Although laws are being challenged, the only way to fully overturn the state’s abortion amendment is through another ballot initiative, or if federal law changes in a way that contradicts what Ohio has in the state constitution.