Voters in Ohio are deciding whether to add abortion rights protections听to the state鈥檚 constitution today.听
The vote comes on the heels of last year鈥檚 string of ballot measure wins for abortion rights in six states:听California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana and Vermont. But this is just the start.
Next year, 11 more states could see abortion-related ballot measures, part of a wave of such actions since the Supreme Court鈥檚 2022听听which overturned听Roe v. Wade. The groundwork for these next campaigns has been in motion for months, sometimes years.听
In听Iowa, for example, efforts to pass a state constitutional amendment declaring no right to abortion began in 2021, although the GOP-led legislature has yet to finish the process. In听Colorado, competing initiatives 鈥� one to enshrine abortion protections and one to ban abortion 鈥� could appear on the same ballot if supporters of both garner enough signatures.听
And in听Missouri, where I鈥檓 based, two groups听听to increase access to abortion. The proposals听range from exemptions for rape, incest, fetal abnormalities and the health of the mother to preventing any restrictions on abortion without a 鈥渃ompelling governmental interest.鈥澨�
It鈥檚 unclear which, if any, of those听will make it to the ballot since听听has delayed signature collection听and highlighted internecine conflicts on both sides of the issue.
- 鈥淚n a way, I think this is what the Supreme Court wanted,鈥� said听, executive director of the Initiative and Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California. 鈥淭hey said, 鈥楾he people ought to figure this out.鈥欌��
Money has been pouring into the initiatives. In the two months听, the campaign to protect abortion rights raised about听$29 million, and the opposing campaign raised nearly听$10 million, according to听the Associated Press.
There鈥檚 much more to come. Last month,听Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire Democrat whose family owns the Hyatt hotel chain,听听to help fund abortion rights ballot measures across the country.听
The cost of launching a ballot campaign can be a daunting obstacle, said听Emily Wales, president and CEO of听, which has clinics in Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri. During last year鈥檚 vote in听Kansas, for example, the competing campaigns raised more than听. That may be a factor in the absence of a ballot measure in听Oklahoma,听听last year. 听
- 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just: Can you pull together a coalition, educate voters and get them out? But: Can you also raise enough to combat what has been years of misinformation, miseducation, and really shaming and stigmatizing information about abortion?鈥� Wales said.
Six of the 17 proposals in Missouri were filed by听Jamie Corley, a former Republican congressional staffer who helms the new 501(c)(4) nonprofit听.听An abortion rights supporter, she鈥檚 trying to land on language that appeals to sympathetic Republicans like herself and thus has a chance of prevailing in her largely red state,听听since the听Dobbs听decision.听
鈥淚 can鈥檛 emphasize enough how dangerous it is to be pregnant in Missouri right now,鈥� Corley said. 鈥淭here is a real urgency to pass something to change the abortion law.鈥�
That鈥檚 for next year.听In the meantime, we鈥檒l find out today whether abortion rights supporters can go听7-0听for ballot measures and add Ohio to the states with constitutional protections. A recent听found that听58 percent of likely voters favored passing听.
Turnout is expected to be high because the measure is under much debate locally, with competing pro and anti signs dotting yards and road medians. Last week, for example, at a small restaurant on the east side of Cincinnati, my听麻豆女优 Health News听colleague听Stephanie Stapleton听was on hand when a table of four women heatedly discussed Issue 1, criticizing men in the state legislature who they said were trying to control their bodies.听
The restaurant got quiet, and people at the table next to them stared. Some of the women who had been loudly talking apologized in case they had caused offense.听
But at the table that had been staring, laughter broke out. One of the young women stood up, took off her jacket and revealed that she was wearing a vintage 1973 T-shirt celebrating听Roe v. Wade.
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