Two Ohio conservatives filed a lawsuit Friday that could prevent a pro-abortion amendment from appearing on the ballot in November.
In the lawsuit, former Republican state Rep. Thomas Brinkman and Hamilton County business owner Jennifer Giroux ask the Ohio Supreme Court to block the amendment, the Ohio Capital Journal reports. They accused pro-abortion groups of failing to specify the laws that would be invalid if voters approve the state constitutional amendment, a requirement for ballot initiatives.
“Even though certain existing statutory provisions would be repealed if the proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution … is adopted, the initiative petition failed to include the text of such statutory provisions and, thus, the initiative petition violates requirements established by law and must be invalidated,” lawyer Curt Hartman wrote in the lawsuit.
According to the case, the amendment could end parental consent for minors, a law protecting unborn babies with Down syndrome from discrimination and the state heartbeat law, but the pro-abortion groups did not include these in their petition, Statehouse News Bureau reports.
Gabriel Mann, a spokesman for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, said they are “confident” the court will reject the lawsuit and rule in his group’s favor.
“We expected a desperate challenge like this one but we are confident we have met every requirement to be on the ballot as the secretary of state has already certified,” Mann said.
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The American Civil Liberties Union and other pro-abortion groups support the amendment, which would create a state constitutional “right” to abort unborn babies for basically any reason up to birth and end laws that require parents to be involved in their underage children’s reproductive medical decisions.
Last week, the Ohio Secretary of State approved the ballot measure after confirming pro-abortion groups received enough voters’ signatures on a petition.
To be ratified, a simple majority of voters must pass the measure on the November ballot. However, Ohio has a special election scheduled for August to vote on a measure to make amending the constitution more difficult. If it passes, at least 60 percent of voters would be required for the amendment to pass.
Meanwhile, the Protect Women Ohio coalition is working to defeat the amendment by educating voters. Spokeswoman Amy Natoce said the change would be disastrous for parents and children.
“Ohioans are waking up to the dangers of the ACLU’s anti-parent amendment and they are terrified – and rightfully so,” Natoce said last week. “The extreme amendment places parental rights on the chopping block by permitting minors to undergo abortions and sex change procedures without their parents’ knowledge or consent, removes health and safety protections for women, and allows painful abortion up until birth.”
Ohio is trying to protect unborn babies from abortion. Its heartbeat law bans abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable, about six weeks of pregnancy, and was in effect for a little while last year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. However, pro-abortion groups sued, and a state judge blocked enforcement of the law. State Attorney General Dave Yost is appealing.
The pro-life law has the potential to save tens of thousands of babies’ lives. From June to August while the law was in effect, abortions dropped 65 percent in Ohio, representing about 2,470 unborn babies’ lives, according to a recent study, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
