COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ahead of the November vote on abortion access, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is asking for a compromise on abortion policy.
In just two months, Ohioans will decide if they have a constitutional right to have an abortion, contraception, miscarriage care and fertility treatment.
Abortion rights advocates have cleared one hurdle; Dr. Lauren Beene said they are now getting ready for the big event.
"The incredible turnout that we just observed is, I think, foreshadowing what we'll see in November," Beene said.
Beene is the executive director of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, one group that is part of the coalition Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights. Issue 1 failing means that Ohioans only need to break 50%+1 to pass a constitutional amendment to protect abortion access. The doctor is confident this will happen.
"This is really maintaining the rights that, thankfully, we're actually functioning under currently in the state of Ohio since that six-week ban is temporarily suspended," she added.
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Abortion in Ohio
Abortion is legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy — or from the last menstrual period.
However, this has been a growing political fight for the past decade.
In 2019, Republican lawmakers passed the six-week abortion ban, which had no rape or incest exceptions. This law was blocked by a federal judge a few months later.
When Roe fell in 2022, Ohio reinstated the six-week ban. Pro-abortion rights groups sued, and months later, a state judge indefinitely blocked the law from going into place, citing infringement of privacy.
Now, the case is set to be heard by the Ohio Supreme Court, which is GOP-led.
Amendment
The direct language of the amendment states, "Every individual has a right to make and carry out one's own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one's own pregnancy, miscarriage care and abortion." It adds that the state can't prohibit, interfere or penalize anyone for exercising this right.
Click here to read the initiative petition.
"It's a constitutional amendment that I believe is a radical approach," Gov. DeWine said.
The governor doesn’t think the majority of Ohioans will approve of the proposal — but during a one-on-one last November, he acknowledged the currently blocked six-week ban isn’t popular.
"I know there's been some criticism about the current law,” the governor told Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau in 2022. “So I think we need to look at that.”
The law needs to be more clear, he said.
“Whatever law is passed in regard to abortion, it needs to be something that can be sustained,” he said. “It needs to be something that is acceptable to the people of the state of Ohio, considering the fact that they can go to the ballot if they don't like what the legislature does.”
Although it was discussed with the press, lawmakers haven’t taken up his suggestion to make the ban more moderate. This was brought up to him Thursday.
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Trau asked how he was evaluating the six-week ban ahead of the November election.
"I think now that this constitutional amendment is on the ballot, we need to focus on that," DeWine responded. "Ultimately, the goal is to have something that can be acceptable by the majority of the people of the state of Ohio."
He believes this is possible as long as consideration is given to each side of the debate.
"There are people on both sides who are smart, intelligent and very good people who have very different views about the issue of abortion," DeWine said. "We have to respect that."
While DeWine wants a compromise, abortion rights advocates say that isn't possible.
"That's not healthcare; that's not how it works," Beene said. "When access to necessary medical care is restricted, especially when those restrictions are written by people who aren't actually practicing medicine, people suffer and people die."
It seems the governor is pushing for what he deems as a "middle ground," and further conversations will take place following the abortion vote.
Beene wondered if this was just an opportunity for lawmakers to promise to go back on the restrictive law to appease some planning to vote for the abortion amendment because they disapprove of the six-week ban. Either way, she's not buying it.
"I do not think voters should believe that because, if we are not successful in November, if we do not preserve our right to reproductive health care through this constitutional amendment — you better believe these extremists are gonna come back and outlaw abortion," the doctor said.
Anti-abortion advocates have faith that the amendment will not be successful.
“This amendment is not the right fit for Ohio at all," said Cincinnati Right to Life Executive Director Laura Streitmann. “We know that Ohio is a pro-life state, and we just look forward to proving that in the polls.”
The polls
Each state that has put up a vote on abortion rights has kept the healthcare treatment or procedure safe.
Here are the percentages by which abortion was protected in other states:
- Kentucky — 52.3%
- Montana — 52.5%
- Michigan — 56.6%
- Kansas — 59%
- California — 66%
- Vermont — 76.7%
Issue 1
DeWine, unlike his GOP colleagues, acknowledged the overwhelming shutdown of Issue 1 on Tuesday.
"The people of Ohio have spoken," the governor said. "People need to accept that."
Issue 1 would have raised the threshold for constitutional amendments to pass from 50%+1, a simple majority, to 60%. Supporters sought its passage to thwart the forthcoming abortion rights vote.
When asked about the criticism he has faced for not promoting and campaigning for Issue 1, he gave a different response than some of his fellow Republicans who blamed the loss on being outspent or voters being uneducated.
"Look, when something passes with that kind of margin...when you win with that kind of majority — don't fault the campaign, don't fault your strategy," he said. "It just wasn't gonna happen."
DeWine was asked since he believes that Issue 1 is "settled" because the people have spoken, whether he would follow that same logic if abortion passes.
"I think we have to play this out," the governor responded.
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