In recent months, Townhall has been reporting on how abortion advocates are trying to introduce a radical abortion amendment to the Ohio Constitution. The proposed amendment would guarantee access to abortion in the state and allow minors to undergo the procedure without their parents’ knowledge.
As Spencer noted, the proposed amendment goes much further than its supporters claim and prohibits “virtually any restrictions on abortion and any other procedure, including gender reassignment surgery,” and also “nullifies not only parental consent laws but also simple parental notification on abortion of minors or sex change operations.
The Ohio Secretary of State has not announced whether pro-abortion supporters behind the amendment have collected enough valid signatures for the amendment to be put on the ballot. But a recent poll shows that an alarming number of Ohio voters are likely to support the controversial amendment.
About 57.6 percent of likely Ohio voters support the abortion rights proposal, according to a new poll from the USA TODAY Network and Suffolk University. In the survey, 32.4 percent said they were against it, and 10 percent there were undecideds. These numbers were derived from a survey of 500 likely voters conducted July 9-12, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Broken down by political party, the amendment enjoys overwhelming support from Democrats (via Cincinnati Enquirer.):
About 81% of Democrats support the amendment compared with 32% of Republicans. Younger voters were more likely to support the proposal (69% of those ages 18 to 34) compared to older Ohioans (48% of those 65 and older). About 64% of women supported this solution compared to 50% of men.
According to The Enquirer, abortion is currently legal in the state up to 21 weeks and six days. Additionally, the Aug. 8 vote could require that amendments to the state constitution must be passed by a 60 percent majority.
For years, Republican lawmakers in the state have worked to pass laws to protect the unborn. Now that Roe v. Wade will be invalidated, many states have banned the procedure altogether, which Townhall covered.
Members of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) spoke out against Ohio’s radical amendment.
“This amendment is so radical that it would allow full-term abortions, when babies can feel pain and survive outside the uterus,” Angela Martin, an obstetrician-gynecologist from near Cincinnati, told Townhall. “He also endangers the women he claims to care for by eliminating existing health and safety protections in abortion facilities,” she added. “This amendment is not the way to support real, high-quality care for women and children in Ohio.”
