WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two years ago the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion. The decision galvanized voters in the 2022 elections and led to a surge in turnout that dampened a so-called “red wave” of Republican gains that were expected that year. Ohio Democrats are hoping to maintain that momentum in the Senate race this November.

In 2019 Ohio passed a “trigger law” that would ban all abortions after six weeks should Roe v. Wade be overturned. The law went into effect when the Dobbs decision came out abortion rights decisions were passed to state level.

Six days later, a 10-year-old girl from Columbus who had become pregnant by rape had to travel to Indiana for an abortion, a story that drew national attention.

“Ohio is known around the country and around the world as the state that chased a 10-year-old girl out of state, fleeing to find care that was prohibited in Ohio… We wanted to end that regime. And we did,” said Dr. Arthur Lavin, a retired pediatrician in Cleveland and leader of abortion rights group Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights.

In 2023 Ohio voters approved an amendment to state constitution enshrining the right to an abortion up to fetal viability, considered to be between 21 and 22 weeks of pregnancy.

Yet Dr. Lavin and other members of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights warned in a recent press call that the state’s protections would be at risk if Congress were to pass a national abortion ban. Lavin said that would become more likely if Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno were to get elected to the Senate.

“Bernie Moreno is helping lead the threat against that. And it really working so hard to return us to the days in which doctors in Ohio were prevented from caring for people,” Lavin said.

Moreno was recently endorsed by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a group that opposes abortion rights.

He has said he supports a federal 15-week abortion ban in order to end late-term abortions.

A spokesperson for the Moreno campaign wrote in a statement,

“Ohio Democrats are knowingly lying about Bernie’s stance. He has made clear throughout this entire campaign that he supports exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. He has long stated that abortion should primarily be decided at the state level. Process wise, he's comfortable with any path forward that ends elective, late term abortions with reasonable exceptions and saves as many babies as possible.”

However, in a state that voted to maintain abortion rights by a 14-point margin in 2023, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is playing up fears that a Republican-controlled Senate could go to restrict other reproductive rights, like birth control, contraception and IVF.

“Many people running for office in this state and nationally want a national abortion ban. And they’re clearly not going to stop with just abortion. That’s really, really, really clear,” Brown said during a recent press call.

Nationally, 85% of voters support abortion rights in certain or all circumstances, according to a Gallup poll. But that number drops to 37% in the second trimester, which starts at 13 weeks of gestation, and 22% in the third trimester, which starts at 28 weeks of gestation.

Late-term abortions, however, are relatively rare. The vast majority—96%—happen before 15 weeks, and just 1% are performed after 21 weeks, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.