Abortion supporters take next step to expand abortion, end parental consent in Ohio

Ohio abortion proponents filed 710,131 signatures Wednesday in support of an amendment that would enshrine the “right” to abortion in the state’s constitution. The proposed amendment, which states “every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s reproductive decisions,” is expected to land on the ballot for voters to decide this fall.

Though headlines are touting the fact that the over 700,000 petition signatures received are well over the 413,487 needed, pro-life leaders have already raised the alarm that the abortion industry used unorthodox tactics to collect the signatures, such as the Michigan man who was caught on video admitting that Planned Parenthood paid him to travel to the state to campaign for the amendment. In another instance, a signature gatherer accepted an invalid signature from an unregistered voter simply so that he could make more money.

“The ACLU’s extreme anti-parent amendment is so unpopular that it couldn’t even rely on grassroots support to collect signatures,” said Protect Women Ohio (PWO) press secretary Amy Natoce. “The ACLU paid out-of-state signature collectors to lie to Ohioans about its dangerous amendment that will strip parents of their rights, permit minors to undergo sex change operations without their parents’ knowledge or consent, and allow painful abortion on demand through all nine months. The ACLU’s attempts to hijack Ohio’s constitution to further its own radical agenda would be pathetic if they weren’t so dangerous.”

Protect Women Ohio: Fear the Worst

PWO is “a coalition of concerned family and life leaders, parents, health and medical experts, and faith leaders.” The group organized specifically to fight this abortion amendment and has been actively campaigning to alert voters that the amendment’s passage will mean abortion on demand for all nine months, and will repeal the state’s parental notification laws. Part of its campaign includes digital video ads to explain the dangerous ramifications should the constitutional amendment pass.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, county board of elections officials have until July 20 to check the signatures for possible errors. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose will then have until July 25 to give the final say on whether or not the amendment will have a place on the November ballot.