COLUMBUS (WCMH/AP) – A group has submitted paperwork to the state attorney general seeking to amend Ohio’s constitution to criminalize abortions.
The proposal is the second of its kind nationally. It would “prohibit abortion of all unborn human beings, without exception” and declare the act aggravated murder.
If passed, the amendment would make Ohio the most restrictive state in the nation for abortions. A similar proposal failed to make Oklahoma’s 2016 ballot after the state’s high court rejected it as unconstitutional.
The summary for the proposed amendment says it wouldn’t affect “genuine contraception,” human eggs or in vitro fertilization.
Republican Mike DeWine’s office says three people submitted the filing. It was first reported by The Vindicator in Youngstown.
DeWine has until Monday, September 12 to validate the initial 1,000 signatures with local boards of elections and to ensure the language in the summary is accurate. If the paperwork meets the legal requirements, the proposal could move forward.
Pro-choice advocates are critical of the proposal, calling it extreme and unconstitutional.
“They’re so extreme and they threaten so many Ohioans,” said Gabriel Mann of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio. “We want to know why this is being permitted and why more politicians aren’t speaking against it.”
Mann called the proposal “outrageous.”
“This proposal would punish women who are seeking an abortion because of rape or incest, or even if the procedure was needed to protect the health of the mother or if it was a suffering pregnancy that was already doomed,” Mann said.
NBC4 called local pro-life groups Wednesday to ask what they think of the proposal, but none wanted to comment. NBC4 also called the woman whose name is on the proposal but never got an answer.
Iris Harvey, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, called the proposal “disturbing” and described it as “turning on our backs on a woman when she is most vulnerable and making a really difficult decision that only she, her family, her doctor and her faith person can understand.”
The AG’s office said it will not give an opinion on the amendment and will just make sure all the signatures and paperwork meet the legal requirements.