Ohio abortion ballot measure meets signature requirement for November

Ohio announced Tuesday that abortion rights advocates have met the signature requirement to place a measure on the Nov. 7 ballot that would codify abortion rights in the state constitution.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) certified petitioners received a total of 495,938 valid signatures, exceeding the required minimum of 413,446 signatures — equal to 10 percent of the total votes cast for the governor’s office in the last election. These signatures were collected from 55 counties in Ohio, also surpassing the minimum requirement of at least 44 counties.

The coalition said earlier this month they submitted over 700,000 signatures to place the measure on the ballot.

If passed, the amendment would establish a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” with “reasonable limits.” Similar to the standard once set under Roe v. Wade, the amendment would permit abortion up to the point when a fetus can survive outside of the womb, usually around 24 weeks into a pregnancy.

The proposed 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.”

The state’s ballot board and attorney general previously approved the language of the amendment.

Ohio passed a six-week abortion ban shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, before a state court put the ban on hold last fall.

“Today was an important victory for Ohio women, and Ohio Democrats were proud to play our part,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Elizabeth Walters. “Out-of-touch politicians are relentlessly attacking women’s fundamental rights, inserting themselves into women’s personal, medical decisions and laying the groundwork for a total abortion ban in Ohio.”

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled last month that a controversial special election can go forward as planned in August, where residents will be asked to vote on a resolution to raise the threshold for future measures to a 60 percent supermajority. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling last year, amendments related to abortions in multiple states show voter support is between 50 percent and 60 percent, according to The Associated Press.

Abortion advocates have pushed back on the August special election, claiming the move will make it harder for the amendment to pass in November.

The news follows a recent USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University poll that showed almost 60 percent of Ohio voters back the abortion rights amendment. Support for the amendment fell along party lines, with 81 percent of Democrats in favor of the amendment and 32 percent of Republicans in favor. The poll found 70 percent of independents supported the measure.

“Every person deserves respect, dignity, and the right to make reproductive health care decisions, including those related to their own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion free from government interference,” Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights Executive Committee members Lauren Blauvelt and Dr. Lauren Beene said in a statement Tuesday.

LaRose said he will now direct the Ohio Board of Elections to place the amendment on the general election ballot in November.

LaRose launched his bid for the U.S. Senate last week, joining two major Republican candidates vying for Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-Ohio) seat.