The Mahoning County GOP has a long history of bending the truth.
This is where we set them straight with real, verifiable facts. Not opinion. Their lies this cycle? Issue 1.
They may be handing out yard signs that say “protect women” and “protect children” but the fact is that the only way to do that is with a YES vote.
Before we get started with what Issue 1 does not do, let’s talk about it does do:
Enshrines all reproductive healthcare
Issue 1 isn’t just about abortion. It’s about the entirety of reproductive healthcare - it enshrines fertility treatments, contraceptives, miscarriage treatments and much more.
Actually protects women
Women in states where abortion has been severely restricted are three times more likely to die during pregnancy. It also protects them from being forced to carry pregnancies to term, and from life threatening complications during pregnancy.
Actually protects children
Thanks to Ohio’s 6 week abortion ban that’s currently on hold awaiting the outcome of this election — there are no options to terminate pregnancies that result from rape or incest, including for children (or anyone) who have been sexually assaulted — such as what happened in the case of the 10 year old girl who was sexually assaulted and had to travel to Indiana to terminate the pregnancy.
Myth #1:
“Issue 1 takes away my parental rights”
Truth: Issue 1 has absolutely no impact on parental rights because Ohio has consent laws.
Your child can’t get an aspirin from a school nurse without your consent, how likely do you think it’s going to be they’ll be able to get an abortion?
Ohio has incredibly strict parental consent laws that require a medical professional to get consent except in rare situations like life saving care, and some mental health situations.
Don’t take our word for it, the Republican Secretary of State Dave Yost, a vocal opponent of Issue 1 said that parental consent is not addressed by this law and that parental consent has been consistently upheld by courts. Read this yourself by clicking here.
Myth #2: Issue 1 creates a system of “unlimited abortion” and “abortion can be done up until the moment of birth”
Let’s call this what it is: ridiculous.
Not only is this myth a lie, it’s an insult to people who have late term miscarriages.
Truth: Issue 1’s passage would enshrine the State of Ohio’s ability to restrict voluntary abortion however it wants.
Issue 1 actually empowers the state’s ability to restrict voluntary abortion however it wants after a physician has determined that the fetus can survive outside the womb on it’s own with reasonable medical accommodations (roughly 22 weeks), so long as it doesn’t create a law that would endanger the life of the mother. So what’s the part opponents of Issue 1 don’t like? That physicians get to help make informed medical decisions, or that women won’t die because of legal ambiguity?
But don’t take our word for it, here’s the actual amendment:
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.
Myth #3: Issue 1’s passage would force the state to pay for gender affirming care.
Truth: No where in the amendment does it even mention the word gender affirming care, etc. this is a blatant lie.
First: why is it that when evangelicals run out of things to make people fear, they attack trans people? How many hundreds of thousands of your tax dollars have been spent attacking the 7 children in Ohio schools that identify as trans?
However: this part of their package of lies is so absurd we can’t even believe it’s got to be addressed. This is the entirety of the amendment. You won’t find the word gender affirming, transgender, or anything of the like in there. Period, full stop.
FULL TEXT OF THE 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:
contraception;
fertility treatment;
continuing one’s own pregnancy;
miscarriage care; and
abortion
B. 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.
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:
“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.”
“State” includes any governmental entity and any political subdivision.
D. This Section is self-executing