Ohio pro-abortion groups look to secure ballot initiative guaranteeing right to abortion

On Thursday, two pro-choice groups in Ohio took a significant step towards securing a ballot initiative to grant the right to abortion in their state. 

Dave Yost, who is Ohio’s Attorney General,  approved a petition which campaigners raised to bring the ballot initiative to voters in November 2023.

The petition will now be sent to the Ohio ballot board for approval.  The ballot board have 10 days to either accept or reject the petition.

The two groups responsible for submitting the petition, Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights,  garnered thousands of signatures from Ohio residents to get the ball rolling on the petition process. Both groups want a statewide vote on whether abortion rights should be protected in Ohio’s constitution.

After the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade last summer, an Ohio abortion ban after six weeks of pregnancy came into effect straight away. That ban was put on hold by a state judge in October, therefore allowing abortion rights in Ohio up to 22 weeks of pregnancy until further notice. 

The two pro-choice groups in question wish to resolve the matter once-and-for-all and remove it from its legal limbo.

As several bills are passing through Ohio’s Republican legislature, the groups find themselves racing against the clock.  

One such bill, would increase the threshold from a which a ballot can be passed from a straight up majority to 60% of the votes.  This bill has been passed in the House and is awaiting approval from the senate.

The groups will have to get their bill on the ballot by November to guarantee that only a majority of votes will be required.