Election 2023: Why anti-abortion Ohioans say Issue 1 is far too extreme for Buckeye State

There has been much debate, but tomorrow is decision day.

Voting will conclude for Issue 1, a proposed abortion and reproductive rights constitutional amendment, on Nov. 7 ballot.

Supporters say enshrining abortion, contraception, fertility treatment and miscarriage care rights into the constitution is the only way to protect Ohioans from extremist.

THE OTHER SIDE: Why ‘yes’ vote on Issue 1 will protect Ohioans from abortion extremists

Opponents say it too extreme.

Ohio’s now paused “heartbeat” law offered no exception for incest or rape and prohibited virtually every Ohio abortion when cardiac activity is detected – typically at the six-week mark. That’s long before most women know they are pregnant.

Issue 1 would protect abortion access up until viability, which is when a fetus can survive outside the uterus with reasonable measures. The point of viability – when the fetus can live outside the womb – is around 23 to 24 weeks with modern medicine.

Below are 5 recent opinion pieces in opposition to Issue 1

Oct. 5, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Thousands turned out for the first Ohio March for Life on Wednesday at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. The event was a show of support for ending abortion access in Ohio from the point of conception. Ohio’s Republican lawmakers are poised to ban nearly all abortions when they return to Columbus after the November elections. Mandatory Credit: Barbara Perenic/Columbus Dispatch

Abortion amendment rooted in fearmongering

Writers: Aaron Baer, president of Center for Christian Virtue; Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life and Peter Range is the executive director of Ohio Right to Life

LINK TO GUEST OPINION COLUMN: “Abortion amendment is wrong and dangerous for Ohio. Here’s why.”

Excerpt: “In efforts to transform Ohio into an abortion haven like California and New York, the ACLU and Planned Parenthood have deployed disinformation and fearmongering campaigns to obscure what the amendment really entails.

These special interest groups say the amendment would allow abortion only until “viability.” Still, they refuse to define when viability is determined.

One of Planned Parenthood’s Chief medical officers, Colleen McNicholas, admitted during sworn testimony before the U.S. Congress that ‘viability is a complicated medical construct. There is no particular gestational age. There are some pregnancies in which a fetus will never be viable.’

In other words, abortionists are left to decide the timeline of viability, despite the fact that they are monetarily incentivized to perform more abortions.”

Religious convictions inform thoughts about abortion in Ohio

Writer: Rachel Muha, founder of The Brian Muha Foundation and The Run The Race Club

Rachel Muha

LINK TO GUEST OPINION COLUMN: “My son was tortured, kidnapped and murdered. Abortion, death penalty easy answer”

EXCERPT: “The death penalty is the easy way for our society to respond to crime, but compassion and sacrifice are the response I offer as a Catholic.

In the same way, abortion is seen as the easy answer to an unexpected pregnancy, especially for those struggling to make ends meet.

My Catholic faith compels me to bring love and compassion to the vulnerable, from women in crisis pregnancies to unborn children. This is why I oppose the amendment appearing on the ballot this November as Issue 1.

No one should be left alone in their need.”

Women and doctors shouldn’t decide abortion question in Ohio.

Writer: Karl von Valtier, a professional pilot active in Republican politics in Delaware County

LINK TO GUEST OPINION COLUMN: “Abortion shouldn’t be left up to mothers, doctors. Government restrictions key”

EXCERPT: “The vague legalese is strategically written to be open-ended, and with most of the key provisions prescribed by terminology that is ambiguous and expressly undefined. 

Karl von Valtier

Opening with reproductive decisions of ‘every individual’ that are ‘including but not limited to…’, it goes on to use phrases like “indirectly burden,” “person or entity that assists an individual”, “least restrictive means,’ ‘widely accepted,’ ‘evidence-based,’ and maybe most significantly – the patient’s ‘health.’

The Reproductive Freedom amendment is built wholly on opaque terms like these – and not a one of them is defined in the amendment text. “

Abortions impact on Black women too great.

Writer: Brian Williams, founder and senior leader of Hope City House of Prayer

LINK TO GUEST OPINION COLUMN: “Abortion industry wants to sink its hooks further into Black women. Issue 1 proof”

EXCERPT: ” While abortion proponents often claim that abortion and racial equality go hand-in-hand, the truth is that innocent Black lives are being lost every day to the deplorable ideology found in the ranks of industry giants like Planned Parenthood.

In fact, Planned Parenthood’s founder, Margaret Sanger, was a known eugenicist – something even her own organization recognized when they removed her name from a New York abortion clinic to ‘reckon with our legacy and acknowledge Planned Parenthood’s contributions to historical reproductive harm within communities of color.’

Pastor Brian Williams

Planned Parenthood is now backing Issue 1 here in Ohio.

This reckless organization and the rest of the abortion industry all stand to profit from abortions allowed by this amendment.”

Abortions come at a high cost.

Writer: Dr. Lindsay Rerko, a family medicine specialist in Westerville

Dr. Lindsay Rerko

LINK TO GUEST OPINION COLUMN: “My patient was coerced to have abortion. No woman should feel shame, guilt of killing baby”

EXCERPT: “For my patient, abortion was not some moment of feminist pride that made her feel powerful. It made her feel powerless. As a healthcare provider, that’s a feeling you don’t want your patient to experience as a result of a medical procedure, especially a voluntary one. 

It is abundantly clear to me that if Issue 1 passes we will have more women pushed into procedures they do not want, that harm their bodies, and that leave them with lasting emotional and physical scars.

Such is the cost of an unregulated abortion market.”

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Issue 1: Why vote ‘yes’ on abortion amendment Nov. 7