Change of abortion Birthright access without parental consent has received enough signatures to be added to Ohio’s November ballot.
An amendment proposed by the ACLU would taking away parental rights informing or giving consent to their minors for abortion or sex-changing surgeries. It would also create a taxpayer-funded right for Ohioans to have abortions until birth.
Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Protect Choice Ohio, the reformed groups, had until Wednesday to collect 413,000 signatures.
“Ohio voters and pro-choice,” Marcela Azevedo, president of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, told ABC News.
The change was so unpopular, however, that supporters could not fully sign using the government agencies, according to Protect Women Ohiogovernment cooperation on life support.
“The The ACLU has paid gathering out-of-state signatures to lie to Ohioans about their dangerous amendment that would strip parents of their rights, allow children to undergo sex-reassignment surgeries without their parents’ consent or permission, and allow painful abortions after nine months. Amy Natoce, press secretary for Protect Women Ohio, told The Daily Signal in a statement Thursday. “The ACLU’s attempt to usurp the Ohio Constitution to advance its larger agenda would be unfortunate if not dangerous.”
Protect Women Ohio released photos showing a Planned Parenthood-the employer explains the purpose of the change by using misleading language to sign. The petitioner said that the amendment does not mean “abortion or abortion,” but simply increases the time a woman can have an abortion from six weeks to 12 weeks. This explanation does not fully explain all aspects of the proposal.
The man also admitted that he was from Michigan, where he also collected signatures, all for $25 an hour.
The pro-life group Created Equal released another video showing a petitioner deliberately collecting signatures from a woman who is not registered to vote in Ohio. The man explains that he is motivated by money to collect signatures, even unofficial ones, to fulfill his role.
The amendment relies on vague language to match the so-called reproductive rights created by the late Roe v. Wade. According to the non-profit legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom, the amendment’s language referring to “reproductive rights” as “human rights” is misleading. According to ADF, supporters of the amendment are relying on voters not knowing that “civil rights” refers to the rights contained in the US Bill of Rights and the Ohio Constitution, which do not include abortion.
The amendment’s vague language may lead courts to interpret it as protecting rights transgender surgeries, ADF warns. Courts could interpret the amendment to protect the removal of healthy body parts, opening up the possibility for surgeries to give some men and women protections under the law.
“These changes are very dangerous for Ohio,” Logan Church, director of CatholicVote Ohio, told The Daily Signal. “As part of their ongoing attack on parents, the ACLU’s proposed amendment seeks to strip parents of the most important decisions about their child’s health—including abortion and sex-change surgeries.”
Do you have any thoughts on this matter? To install, please email letters@DailySignal.com, and we will consider publishing your edited comments in our regular “We Hear You” section. Remember to include the link or title of the article along with your name and city and/or state.