COLUMBUS: The US state of Ohio will decide whether to guarantee the right to abortion in a potential 2024 bellwether on Tuesday as both sides of the American political machine establish their campaign strategies on this crucial issue one year out from the presidential election.
Voters will choose whether to amend the midwestern state´s constitution to promise the freedom to “make and carry out one´s own reproductive decisions, including... abortion,” or to leave the document unchanged, allowing for a potential state ban.
The US Supreme Court revoked the national right to abortion last year when it overturned the 1970s Roe vs Wade case, sending the decision on its legality back to each individual state.
In the 17 months since the court´s decision, 14 states have effectively prohibited the procedure, while others have moved to enshrine the right to end a pregnancy within state law.
In Ohio, the reversal of Roe vs Wade triggered a law that would halt all abortions after a heartbeat is detected in the womb, usually around six weeks of gestation -- before many people even know they are pregnant.
The law is currently suspended as it winds its way through legal challenges, meaning that for now it is still possible to obtain an abortion in Ohio up to about 22 weeks of pregnancy.
But the law sparked a national outcry for the short time it was allowed to remain in effect last year, when a 10-year-old rape survivor was forced to travel to neighboring Indiana for an abortion after being denied care at home.
Though Election Day is Tuesday, Ohio voters have already been casting early ballots for weeks. They can mark “yes” or “no” on a question of whether to change the state constitution toguarantee that “every individual has a right to make and carry out one´s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one´s own pregnancy, miscarriage care and abortion.”
The amendment would allow for the prohibition of abortion after “fetal viability” -- when a fetus is able to survive on its own outside the womb -- unless a doctor believes a pregnant patient´s life or health is in danger. After the downfall of Roe, the pro-abortion rights camp notched several victories last year, including a referendum to protect reproductive rights in the conservative state of Kansas.