November 12, 2023

On Election Day, Ohio voters, including Republicans, opted overwhelmingly, by 57-43%, to enshrine abortion rights in their state’s constitution and to be rid of the state's post-Roe v. Wade restrictions. Republican officials tried multiple times to block the referendum, but were repeatedly defeated.

Now, Republicans have come up with a new scheme to undermine the will of their citizens and democracy, itself.

From The Washington Post:

“To prevent mischief by pro-abortion courts with Issue 1, Ohio legislators will consider removing jurisdiction from the judiciary over this ambiguous ballot initiative,” said the mix of fairly new and veteran lawmakers who are all vice-chairs of various House committees. “The Ohio legislature alone will consider what, if any, modifications to make to existing laws based on public hearings and input from legal experts on both sides.”

“The legislature has multiple paths that we will explore to continue to protect innocent life. This is not the end of the conversation,” [House Speaker Jason] Stephens previously said in a news release.

Abortion rights advocates plan to ask courts to repeal any remaining abortion bans and restrictions, The Post said, but the matter could still end up in the state’s Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority.

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