OHIO — All eyes have been on Ohio since Issue 1 was first introduced. 

What You Need To Know

  • Election Day is less than a week away

  • Partial-birth abortions are when a living fetus is partially birthed and doctor intentionally kills them, and they were banned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003

  • Federal bans take precedent over any state amendments or statutes 
  • The language of Issue 1 outlined at the ballot box is different than the language of the actual amendment 
  • You can read the full language of Issue 1 here
Your Voter Guide on the Spectrum News App

Issue 1, as it is written, allows for “every Ohioan to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decision.” It addresses five major reproductive decisions: contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one's own pregnancy, miscarriages, and finally, abortions.

Partial-birth abortions are when a doctor delivers part of a living fetus with the intention of killing it. Some Ohioans feel these would be legal if Issue 1 passes, but legal analysts said that since they are illegal under federal law, they would not be able to be performed in Ohio.

“Ohio can ban abortions after viability, so long as they make exceptions in order to protect the life or health of the woman and the professional judgment of the physician,” said Dan Kobil, who serves as a professor of law at Capital University. “The suggestion that certain late-term abortion methods would suddenly be legal after the passage of Issue 1 is not what Issue 1 says.” 

In 2003, the U.S. supreme court banned partial-birth abortions in a 5-4 vote. Due to this decades old ruling, it would be impossible for partial-birth abortions to take place in the state, because state constitutions or provisions cannot overrule federal ones.

“Doctors still would be committing a federal crime and exposing themselves to federal prosecution if they violated the federal law,” said Kobil. 

The "Heartbeat Law" went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned. It has been blocked for over a year due to a lawsuit underway in Hamilton County. If Issue 1 passes, legal experts say it could impact the future of the Heartbeat law.

“I  think that the 'Heartbeat Law' will very likely fail under Issue 1, because it is such a restrictive regulation,” said Jonathan Entin, who serves as a law professor at Case Western Reserve University. “It's not consistent with the language of Issue 1, with regard to pre-viability, abortion restrictions.”

Election Day is Nov. 7. While the fate of Issue 1 will be decided in less than a week, there’s no telling how long it would take to be implemented in the Ohio state constitution.

“Exactly how fast I can't say, but I don't think we're going to be waiting for a really long time to see what happens if Issue 1 does pass,” said Entin.

Experts suggest voters read the amendment before heading into the voting booth, because the language at the ballot is not the same as the language in the amendment itself. You can read the measure in its entirety here.

Related Stories