Last year, the abortion lobby successfully confused enough pro-life Michigan voters into approving a constitutional amendment legalizing abortion up to birth. Now, with the "Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety," pro-aborts are targeting Ohio with a similar proposal that Governor Mike DeWine (R) calls extreme.
"I think it should be enough for people to know that an abortion can take place at any point in the pregnancy, right up to the moment of birth," he tells American Family News. "I find that to be shocking. I think the majority of people in this country, majority of people in Ohio would just find that this goes much, much too far."
Polls continue to show that most people (51%), even those who support so-called abortion rights, at least favor restrictions on abortion.
Ohio law currently allows abortion until the point that a baby can survive outside the womb, which is generally accepted as 22 weeks. The state also requires that parents be notified if their minor daughter seeks to terminate her unborn baby, but this constitutional would supersede those measures.
"So, we could have a situation where a 16-year-old, 17-year-old would not have the help and counsel from their parents," the governor poses.
In August, the Issue 1 proposal, which would have made it more difficult for voters to amend the state constitution, was handily defeated. Existing law allows for changes to the state constitution with only a simple majority, but Issue 1 would have raised the threshold to 60% of votes cast.
As this is an off-year for an election, the governor stresses that the outcome depends on turnout.
"I just hope that people will really understand the importance of their vote this year," Gov. DeWine says. "This is something that I think sort of defines where Ohio is and where we should be."
Meanwhile, out-of-state abortion organizations are pouring millions of dollars into promoting their measure.
Early voting on the proposal has already begun.
