Ohio voters surprised the country last November when an amendment passed that guaranteed abortion protections to its state constitution.
The Ohio amendment, which passed in November with about 57% of the vote, said every individual “has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions,” including on abortion. And the state “shall not, directly or indirectly, burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with, or discriminate against” the exercise of those rights.
The amendment was put on the ballot in response to more than a dozen states moving to ban abortions. Voters in Ohio and other states have been voting on ballot measures that provide broader legal rights than what the Supreme Court previously endorsed. Abortion rights plaintiffs are using a new weapon in litigation.
After the Dobbs decision came down from the Supreme Court, Democrats ramped up the…
