Culture and Social Issues

Abortion Activists To Take Strategy ‘To The Next Level’ After Ohio Win

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Abortion activists are hoping to take their strategy “to the next level” after a resounding win at the ballot Tuesday making abortion a right in Ohio, according to Axios.

The state’s voters confirmed abortion as a state right by nearly 60% during a ballot initiative that Democrats had heavily pushed for months. Putting Ohio in the rearview, pro-abortion activists are turning to states like Arizona, Nevada and Florida, hoping to apply a similar strategy to enshrine abortion rights in the states’ constitutions, according to Axios.

“Ohio really has taken this ballot measure strategy to protect abortion rights to the next level,“ Kelly Hall, executive director of The Fairness Project, a nonprofit that focuses on supporting social justice initiatives, told Axios.

Canvassers hold pro-life signs at Columbus Christian Center before Election Day during a pro-life canvasing meeting in Columbus, Ohio on November 4, 2023. (Photo by MEGAN JELINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

Abortion advocates are also looking toward deeper red states like Nebraska and South Dakota as future goals, despite both states passing pro-life laws, according to Axios. The former banned abortion after 12 weeks and the latter banned abortion only in the case of a threat to the life of the mother.

California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Vermont and now Ohio have all successfully passed abortion amendments through ballots following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022, according to Axios.

President Joe Biden’s campaign said in June that they plan to make abortion “front and center” for his 2024 presidential re-election. Julie Chávez Rodríguez, Biden’s campaign manager, said that she felt abortion would be a “really galvanizing issue” and that the campaign plans to continue pushing it in the coming months.

Abortion advocates have also been updating their language when talking about the issue, with the major abortion group NARAL Pro-Choice America (NARAL) changing its name in September to “Reproductive Freedom for All.” Activists are saying that the word “freedom” is resonating with voters more than the traditional terms like “pro-choice.”