For Immediate Release: April 3, 2024
Contact: [email protected] | View Newsroom
OH Abortion Amendment Realities Are A Warning For FL And Other Ballot States
Columbus, Ohio – Women and girls in Ohio do not have the right to receive information about abortion from medical professionals before making a decision, according to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood in a new lawsuit targeting the state’s informed consent and heartbeat laws. The legal action stems from the state’s passage of an abortion amendment in 2023 and is a “crucial step” in the abortion industry’s fight, says the president of Planned Parenthood Federation.
Sue Liebel, midwestern regional director for SBA Pro-Life America, shared her response:
“When Ohioans were in church on Good Friday, D.C. lawyers, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU invaded the state with a lawsuit to remove women’s right to receive information on the risks of second- and third-trimester abortions. The same groups that insisted Issue 1 was about guarding women’s healthcare is using the abortion amendment to remove Ohio’s law on giving women adequate time and information so they can make a voluntary decision. Like every abortion amendment it was a bait-and-switch campaign to legalize second- and third-trimester abortions.
“Floridians and those who live in states where abortion could be on the ballot should take note of the unfortunate realities playing out in Ohio where out-of-state interests are using Issue 1 to keep women in the dark and further Big Abortion’s profit motives. Every health and safety protection on the books will be targeted because even the abortion advocates say this lawsuit is only step one. This is the agenda for every abortion amendment and we must fight back to protect women and girls.”
The informed consent law targeted by the ACLU was enacted to give women adequate information and time to make an informed, voluntary decision. It ensures women give their written consent and that at least 24 hours prior to the abortion, a woman meets with a physician privately so she has the opportunity to ask any questions she may have and to receive important information, including the nature and medical risks of the procedure, the baby’s gestational age, the name of the physician who will perform the abortion, and state-created information about resources available to women through alternatives to abortion programs. The law under attack tasks the Department of Health with creating a public-facing website in English and Spanish that outlines alternatives to abortion programs and resources like state-funded medical assistance and the father’s financial support.
Florida is the only pro-life state guaranteed to have abortion on the ballot this November. Abortion activists are in the process of placing amendments on the ballot in Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is a network of more than one million pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.
###
