Vote Early now through Sunday, November 5!
Election Day: Tuesday, November 7

Upcoming Events

Sunday, November 5
4:30-6:30pm
Akron - Black Joy Day Party
Bayard Rustin Center
652 W. Exchange Street, Akron
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What will VOTING YES mean?

Government and politicians have put a ban in place in Ohio without exceptions for rape or incest. Voting Yes on Issue 1 means Ohioans would be protected from these dangerous bans.

• VOTING YES means showing up, making our voices heard, and restoring the rights we have had for decades. These Ohio politicians want to turn back the clock on our rights and freedom, including abortion rights.

• VOTING YES puts Ohioans back in charge of our families’ personal medical decisions and stops government and politicians from making these decisions for us.

• VOTING YES means when future generations ask us what we did to stand up for our rights when this happened, we can proudly say “I voted YES on Issue 1.” This is our chance to make our voices heard. By speaking out, we can ensure future generations will not have fewer rights than we did.

• VOTING YES will keep our families safer and increase access to healthcare. We know abortion bans have detrimental health consequences for Ohioans and their families, especially for Black and brown communities. Abortion bans exacerbate racism in healthcare; Black women are already 2.6 times more likely than white women to die during pregnancy, and states with abortion bans have 62% higher maternal mortality rates than other states. Black women always bear the brunt of abortion bans, and the same will be true in Ohio if we do not pass Issue 1.

• VOTING YES is critical to address the intersecting challenges Black Ohioans face to access abortion and pregnancy care.

• VOTING YES makes sure decisions around pregnancy, including abortion, birth control, and miscarriage care, are personal and private and left up to families. Here in Ohio, government and politicians have already banned abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, forcing families to cross state lines and face criminalization to get the abortion care they need. Black women across the country are already facing increased criminalization in states that have banned abortion since Roe was overturned.

• VOTING YES means taking back our power! Extreme politicians here in Ohio passed one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country, even preventing doctors from acting until the patient is on the brink of death. Ohioans should not be forced to face racial bias and discrimination when making decisions around our health and pregnancy, and we should not need to flee our state to get care for ourselves and our loved ones.

Read the Full Text of the Amendment:

THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM WITH PROTECTIONS FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY

SUMMARY

The Amendment would amend Article I of the Ohio Constitution by adding Section 22, titled “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety.”

The Amendment provides that:

1. 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.

2. The State shall not, directly or indirectly, burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with, or discriminate against either an individual’s voluntary exercise of this right or a person or entity that assists an individual exercising this right, unless the State demonstrates that it is using the least restrictive means to advance the individual’s health in accordance with widely accepted and evidence-based standards of care.

3. However, abortion may be prohibited after fetal viability. But in no case may such an abortion be prohibited if in the professional judgment of the pregnant patient’s treating physician it is necessary to protect the pregnant patient’s life or health.

4. As used in this Section, “Fetal viability” means “the point in a pregnancy when, in the professional judgment of the pregnant patient’s treating physician, the fetus has a significant likelihood of survival outside the uterus with reasonable measures. This is determined on a case-by-case basis”; and “State” includes any governmental entity and political subdivision.

5. This Section is self-executing.

FULL TEXT OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT

Be it Resolved by the People of the State of Ohio that Article I of the Ohio Constitution is amended to add the following Section:

Article I, Section 22. The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety

A. Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on:

1. contraception;

2. fertility treatment;

3. continuing one’s own pregnancy;

4. miscarriage care; and

5. abortion

B. The State shall not, directly or indirectly, burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with, or discriminate against either:

1. An individual’s voluntary exercise of this right or

2. A person or entity that assists an individual exercising this right

unless the State demonstrates that it is using the least restrictive means to advance the individual’s health in accordance with widely accepted and evidence-based standards of care.

However, abortion may be prohibited after fetal viability. But in no case may such an abortion be prohibited if in the professional judgment of the pregnant patient’s treating physician it is necessary to protect the pregnant patient’s life or health.

C. As used in this Section:

1. “Fetal viability” means “the point in a pregnancy when, in the professional judgment of the pregnant patient’s treating physician, the fetus has a significant likelihood of survival outside the uterus with reasonable measures. This is determined on a case-by-case basis.”

2. “State” includes any governmental entity and any political subdivision.

D. This Section is self-executing.