By Dave Andrusko
Plain and simple, on November 7th abortion on demand will be on the ballot in Ohio. “The ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and others are spending millions of dollars attempting to enshrine abortion-until-birth, with zero restrictions, into Ohio’s constitution this fall,” according to Ohio Right to Life. “The seriousness of this ballot initiative cannot be overstated. If this is passed, Ohio’s legislature could not pass any future laws to protect the preborn. The abortion issue would be ripped out of our hands permanently.”
The way the language appears on the ballot is absolutely crucial. Yesterday a “divided Ohio Ballot Board approved language voters will see this fall” that replaces the word “fetus” with “unborn child” four times Eric Heisig reported.
Democrats howled. Rep. Elliot Forhan (D), called the language offered by Secretary of State Frank LaRose “needlessly repetitive.”
Heisig wrote that “State Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R) said she supported the ballot language as a way to convey to voters that ‘should it pass, it is unequivocally true that access to painful late-term abortions will be written into Ohio’s constitution.’”
The Associated Press’ Julie Carr Smyth allowed her feeling to show. Rose’s summary, adopted yesterday on a 3-2 vote, says the amendment, if adopted, would “always allow an unborn child to be aborted at any stage of pregnancy, regardless of viability if, in the treating physician’s determination” the life and health exception applies.”
The original summary language, Smyth writes, “seeks to assure access to abortion through what is called viability, when the fetus is able to survive outside the womb. It stated, ‘abortion may be prohibited after fetal viability,’ but not in cases where a treating physician deems the procedure necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person.”
To Smyth, this is turning the summary “on its head.” In fact, the revised language is spot-on.
It spells out specifically that the abortion can go forward, no matter how late in pregnancy, if the abortionist says it’s necessary to protect the “health,” of the woman. This, of course, was the escape clause under the Roe v. Wade’s companion case, Doe v. Bolton.
The election takes place November 7.