Defeating The Abortion Ballot Initiative
The Most Dangerous Initiative Ohio Has Ever Faced
On November 7th, 2023, Ohioans will vote on the most dangerous ballot initiative in Ohio history. If Issue 1 passes, it will enshrine abortion-until-birth, with zero restrictions, into Ohio’s constitution. The seriousness of this ballot initiative cannot be overstated. If this is passed, Ohio’s legislature could not pass any future laws to protect the preborn. The abortion issue would be ripped out of our hands permanently.
It is important to note that this ballot measure would not only allow abortion through all nine months of pregnancy but also enshrine minors’ “ right “ to undergo dangerous sex-change surgeries and acquire life-altering drugs, like Lupron, behind their parent’s backs.
Here’s how you can help:
- Pray: Daily, commit to pray at 7:14 a.m. and 7:14 p.m. in the spirit of 2 Chronicles 7:14 which states: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
- Volunteer: Visit ohiolife.org or your local pro-life organization and sign up to help us defend the Constitution and preborn children in our state.
- Donate: To compete in a state like Ohio we will need to raise millions of dollars for the campaign and paid advertising. Consider donating at ohiolife.org/donate or your favorite pro-life organization.
- Educate: Start locally by informing your pastor, priest, and church about the upcoming ballot initiative. Recruit volunteers to help in the cause!
- Vote: Vote NO on Issue 1 on (or before) November 7, 2023.
Get Ready to Vote
- Register to vote by October 10, 2023 to vote in the general election on November 7, 2023. Note: If your name or address changed, be sure to update that information.
- Military & Overseas Voting begins September 22, 2023.
- Early voting begins October 11, 2023.
- Election Day is November 7, 2023.
Know the Facts
How does Issue 1 put women at risk?
Health and safety standards in Ohio could be eliminated. Doctors could no longer need to examine a woman or explain the risks of the abortion procedure ahead of time.
How does Issue 1 threaten parental rights?
A fifteen-year-old could have an abortion without her parents knowing. Current Ohio law requires parental notification and consent before a child under 18 can obtain an abortion. These parental right protections could be removed asthey directly conflict with the amendment which would allow all individuals, including minors, to make their own reproductive decisions.
How does Issue 1 threaten the lives of fully formed pre-born babies?
Abortion would be legal through all 9 months of pregnancy. Physicians at an abortion clinic could use a woman’s age or emotional well-being as a reason to perform an abortion in the 3rd trimester.
What’s really in the amendment text?
Issue 1 is particularly dangerous because of the intentionally broad and vague language in it. The language gives no limitation on age and gender for reproductive decisions that could include abortion and gender reassignment surgery. The result of this broad language will be the dismantling of parental rights and all common sense abortion regulation.
We can look to Michigan for a preview of what will happen in Ohio if Issue 1 passes:
“Following the passage of Proposition 3 last year, pro-life, pro-woman laws are falling by the wayside. Michigan has already removed nearly all informed consent documents from its state website. By introducing this suite of bills, Michigan Democrats hope to formalize these changes so that future administrations cannot revive pro-life, pro-woman protections. Should Issue 1 pass in November, the same process will play out in Ohio.
Press secretary for Protect Women Ohio, Amy Natoce, said, “Because of Prop 3, Michigan has become the wild, wild west where they have allowed radical abortion ideology to override common sense and compassionate medical safety requirements protecting women and children – not to mention parental rights. Ohio be warned: The tragic consequences of Michigan’s Prop 3 are coming to fruition less than a year after passage. What is happening to our neighbors will certainly happen here if Issue 1 passes.” Read more.
The document below gives a quick overview of the dangers in the Amendment text.
Debunking medical misinformation
From the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
MYTH #1 Miscarriage care and ectopic pregnancy treatment could be denied if Issue 1 fails.
The passing or failure of Issue 1 will have no effect on the care a pregnant woman receives when her life is in danger, even if the treatment results in the loss of life of her unborn child.
No law restricts this care in Ohio or any other state in the country.
“There is no law in Ohio that stops us from caring for them or caring for mom during an emergency such as an ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage. The abortion industry wants to talk about these non-issues because they don’t want you to know what their amendment is really about: an extreme agenda that legalizes painful abortions up until birth and takes rights away from parents.”
-Dr. Kathleen Lutter, board-certified OB/GYN in Ohio
MYTH #2 Late-term abortions do not happen or only happen to have the life of a mother.
Late-term abortions do happen. 156 abortions were performed at 21 weeks or later in Ohio in 2021. The baby is full formed, and can feel excruciating pain.
Related fact: The youngest baby to survive was born at 21 weeks 1 day.
“Defenders of late-term abortion frequently make the assertion that late-term abortions are “almost always” carried out in cases of severe fetal abnormality or danger to the mother’s life. In reality, the concept of “medical necessity” in the context of late-term abortion is misleading, and many late-term abortions are elective, frequently complicated by coercion, indecision and partner abandonment. In reporting on the results of a study of late-term abortions in 2013 (Foster, Kimport) in the journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, a publication of the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute, the authors acknowledge that “data suggests that most women seeking later terminations are not doing so for reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment.”
Charlotte Lozier Institute, Read more about late-term abortion.
From Protect Women Ohio