COLUMBUS, Ohio— Yesterday, Ohio Right to Life released a statement regarding Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost approving the abortion lobby’s ballot initiative language to change Ohio’s constitution.
“We look forward to exposing the dangers of this extreme amendment being pushed on Ohio by the abortion industry,” stated Peter Range, Ohio Right to Life’s Chief Executive Officer. “If passed, it would cancel parental rights and measures in place to protect young girls; basic health and safety protections for women would be wiped out; and it would make Ohio home to painful late-term abortions right up until birth.”
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office certified on March 2 the summary of a petition entitled “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety.” The amendment would add a Section 22 to Article 1 of the state constitution.
The proposal next moves to the Ohio Ballot Board, which will determine whether it contains a single constitutional amendment or more than one. If the board certifies the proposal, the petitioners must then collect signatures from registered voters equal to at least 10% of the vote cast in the most recent gubernatorial election. Those signatures must come from voters in at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties and, for each of those counties, the number must equal at least 5% of the vote cast in the most recent gubernatorial election.
If sufficient signatures are verified by the Ohio Secretary of State at least 65 days before the election, the full text of the proposed amendment will be placed on the ballot in the regular or general election that occurs subsequent to 125 days after the filing of the petition.