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Ohio voters side with abortion lobby, defeat proposal backed by pro-lifers

After a proposal to raise the threshold to pass a constitutional amendment to 60% failed Tuesday night, attention now turns to the November election when a radical abortion amendment will be on the ballot.

Stephen
Kokx
Stephen Kokx
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1 million names against abortion Join us in urging the Supreme Court to stop the killing

(LifeSiteNews) — Ohio voters shot down Issue 1 by a wide margin on Tuesday, August 8, in a special election. The proposal, which abortion supporters opposed, had received 57% of the vote with 96% of the precincts counted at 11 p.m. ET.

Issue 1 would have changed the process to amend the Ohio constitution by raising the threshold from a simple 50% plus one majority vote to a 60% requirement. Thanks to Issue 1’s defeat, pro-lifers will have an uphill battle against an upcoming abortion initiative, which a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll shows is supported by 58% of Ohioans.

The abortion lobby, which strongly fought to defeat Issue 1, reportedly had a massive three-to-one fundraising edge.

“What’s right is right, regardless of the outcome of any election,” CatholicVote co-founder Josh Mercer told LifeSite via email. “We know it is our duty to keep our heads high and to march on against attacks on human dignity.”

Issue 1’s defeat comes ahead of a vote on an amendment proposal backed by the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. The ambiguously worded proposal, deceptively titled “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety,” will go before voters in November. It has been universally criticized by pro-lifers for enabling abortion until birth and undermining parental rights.

Abortion in Ohio is currently legal until 22 weeks of pregnancy. In 2019, GOP Gov. Mike DeWine signed a heartbeat law that banned abortions around six weeks. However, a judge blocked that measure indefinitely. The Ohio Supreme Court is expected to hear the case imminently. The Akron Beacon Journal has reported that Ohio currently has nine abortion clinics, down from 23 in 2010.

Turnout for Issue 1 was atypically high. According to the Associated Press, more than 533,000 people early voted by mail or in-person since July. That’s nearly double the early voting in the two most recent statewide primary elections for governor and the legislature. Polls opened at 6:30 a.m. today and closed at 7:30 p.m. There were several reports of voting irregularities and strains on volunteers.

“ALL ballot scanners are down & not working at Cuyahoga Falls polling location,” ABC affiliate News 5 journalist Mike Holden reported earlier today. “Voters & workers frustrated. Ballots either placed in orange bag & scanned later OR can void ballot & come back later.”


Both liberals and conservatives spent considerable amounts of time and money on the campaign. According to AdImpact, Democrats spent nearly $16 million to defeat Issue 1 whereas Republicans spent almost $11 million in support of it.

AdImpact also found that Protect Women Ohio, a pro-life organization, ran $5.5 million in ads over the last seven days. Left-wing group One Person One Vote raised nearly $15 million to oppose Issue 1.

National political figures also lent their voices to the campaign. Ohio GOP U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance criticized former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for describing Issue 1 as a tool to trick voters to “give away their own power.”

“We’re actually trying to make it harder for out of state special interests to rewrite the Ohio constitution,” Vance said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Vote yes on 1 today to tell Nancy Pelosi to mind her own business.”

On Sunday, August 6, national grassroots organization Catholics for Catholics held a rosary rally just outside Cincinnati. Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland led the rally while retired U.S. General Michael Flynn, actor Jim Caviezel, Abby Johnson, and other pro-life Catholics spoke to attendees.

Once considered a crucial swing state, Ohio has been steadily gravitating toward the Republican Party in both national and statewide elections over the past decade, with Donald Trump having won the state twice. DeWine is a longtime GOP politician and former member of Congress. Republicans currently have a 67-32 majority in the state House of Representatives and a 26-7 edge in the state Senate.

1 million names against abortion Join us in urging the Supreme Court to stop the killing

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