People in Ohio will decide if they have a constitutional right to abortion
Detecting an Abrupt Birth in the Early Voting Center: Alabama Voters to Decide on a Constitutional Right to Abortion
Beth and Kyle Long, both Columbus area residents, held hands while walking into the Franklin County early voting center to cast their votes for Issue 1.
At the same time as she got an abortion in January, Beth is 18 weeks pregnant with her second child.
“The doctors came back and told us, ‘all of her organs, except her heart, are growing on the outside of her, enmeshed in the placenta,” she told NPR. “‘[They said] there is nothing we can do to go through and separate that. No fetus has ever survived this condition, and yours will not be the first.'”
The Longs were featured in an ad for Issue 1, one of many that have dominated the air waves in a contest that many view as a critical precursor to the 2024 elections.
If voters approve the measure, which is similar to one passed in Michigan last year, Ohio would become the seventh state to pass abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer.
The amendment could possibly change the law so that abortion is not allowed at the point when fetal cardiac activity can be detected.
“What it is going to take for us to win is the church, the body of Christ, and pro-life activists rising up and highlighting how radical this abortion amendment is,” says Baer.
Most opponents of the amendment think it would eliminate the requirement of parental consent or a court order for a minor to get an abortion.
Source: Ohio voters to decide on a constitutional right to abortion
Putting a Voter’s Choice on a Constituent Amendment to Abortion on the 2020 State House Floor: A Case Study of the Buckeye State
Katelin Hansen is the leader of the United Methodist Church’s Outreach Program in Columbus, and says she follows a God that tells them to care for the health and wellbeing of all people.
Before 2016, Ohio was considered a bellwether, swing state. But after voting for former President Donald Trump twice and consistently electing Republicans to control the legislature, all statewide offices, and the Ohio Supreme Court, the Buckeye State is thought to be strictly in the red column these days.
However, DeWine acknowledged many Ohioans disagree with the six-week abortion ban he signed in 2019, especially following last summer when it was in place for 82 days after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe.
Since Ohio’s ban on abortions doesn’t allow exceptions for rape and incest, a ten-year-old rape victim went to Indiana for an abortion.
Although DeWine didn’t suggest adding those exceptions back in, he did promise voters as they headed to the polls that if they reject the amendment, he and other state leaders would come up with an exception for rape and incest.
Republicans at the Statehouse have made other efforts to defeat the amendment in addition to the governor talking about changing voters’ minds. Knowing abortion would be on the ballot in the fall, Republican lawmakers put a measure on a special August ballot to change the constitution to require a 60% threshold of passage for constitutional amendments rather than a simple majority. It didn’t work.
The Ohio Ballot Board, which is controlled by Republicans who oppose abortion rights, approved summary language that will be on the current ballot.
That language, which differs from the actual language in the amendment, omitted part of the amendment that addresses birth control and changed the word ‘fetus’ to ‘unborn child.’
Source: Ohio voters to decide on a constitutional right to abortion
A Political Move by Secretary of State Frank LaRose to Oppose Senator Sherrod Brown During the November Voting Cycle
Secretary of State Frank LaRose is a candidate in the Republican primary to oppose Democratic senator Sherrod Brown next year.
Recently, LaRose removed 27,000 voters from the rolls during the early voting period. LaRose’s office removed the voter registration of people who died, moved or didn’t vote for a long time. Democrats called it a political move. They said LaRose removed voters without helping them reregister for the November election, which features two statewide issues he opposes: abortion rights and the legalization of marijuana.
The amendment on abortion rights will eventually pass, according to David Pepper, the former chair of the Ohio Democratic Party.
“I think it is closer overall because there is a lot of misinformation and talk about it being too much,” Pepper says.
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Up First Briefing: 1 Month Since Israel Attacked Israel; Supreme Court Gun Control Case – An Interactive NPR/Columbia Investigation with Manoush Zomorodi
One month ago today, Hamas launched a devastating attack on southern Israel, killing more than 1,400 people and taking more than 250 hostages. More than 10,000 people have been killed in the Gaza area, according to the Health Ministry. Many Israelis support a prisoner swap because the U.S. does not want a pause in the fight to facilitate hostage releases.
The Supreme Court hears arguments today on whether a federal law banning firearms for people under domestic violence restraining orders is constitutional. If the high court overturns the measure, similar state laws would face the same fate. The court ruled last year that in order to be constitutional, a gun law must be analogous to a law that existed at the nation’s founding in the late 1700s.
WeWork, the co-working startup once valued at $47 billion, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company’s shares are down 99.2% from the start of the year, while dozens of locations are expected to close.
Body Electric is a six-part investigation and interactive project with TED Radio Hour host Manoush Zomorodi exploring the relationship between our technology and our bodies… and how we can improve it.
For the past few weeks, Zomorodi has explored several ways technology can affect our bodies — from our eyesight to our mental health. During this time, more than 20,000 listeners joined an NPR/Columbia study to try and incorporate regular movement breaks into their day.
Using a library to help you find a book in search for an old friend or a new lover: How library can help you?
Book lovers are able to lend their money from the library. But libraries have a lot more to offer. There are a few ways libraries can help.
