Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 7, 2023 / 21:28 pm
Ohio voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot referendum that adds a new right to “reproductive freedom,” including abortion and contraception, to the state constitution on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
With 59% of the vote tallied, nearly 56% of voters selected “yes” for the adoption of Issue 1, in contrast to only 44% who chose “no.”
The amendment, which will be effective 30 days after its adoption, adds a new section to the Ohio Bill of Rights in the constitution, which guarantees that “every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decision,” including, but not limited to “abortion.”
Although the amendment’s language allows the state to impose some restrictions “after fetal viability,” the amendment does not establish a clear cutoff for when viability occurs. A preborn child normally reaches viability, which is the ability to survive outside the womb, at about 24 weeks of pregnancy. However, the amendment allows viability to be determined by the mother’s treating physician, which is often the abortionist, on a “case-by-case basis.”