The Quickie: One Week Before Pivotal Election, Ohio’s Anti-Abortion Politicians Are Pushing Lies From The Top
For Immediate Release: Oct. 30, 2023
Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.
In today’s Quickie: Anti-abortion politicians in Ohio escalate attacks ahead of vote, PP Virginia PAC releases a new ad, and abortion data trends post-Dobbs.
ONE WEEK BEFORE PIVOTAL ELECTION, OHIO’S ANTI-ABORTION POLITICIANS ARE PUSHING LIES FROM THE TOP: In the days and weeks leading up to Ohio’s pivotal vote on Issue 1, the state’s reproductive rights amendment, anti-abortion politicians have ramped up their attacks — including by abusing the power of their offices. Reporting from the Associated Press lays out just how pervasive the abuse of power is. Just check out these low-lights:
- An official, taxpayer-funded website from the Ohio Senate Majority Caucus spreading misinformation and blatant anti-abortion propaganda;
- Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s falsehood-filled media blitz about the initiative;
- Attorney General Dave Yost’s questionable legal analysis, distributed to voters;
- A state-approved, distorted ballot summary that polling shows has already had a measurable impact on voters; and
- Purges of voter rolls just weeks before the election, a craven attempt to undermine democracy.
Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights spokesman Gabriel Mann summed up the reality: “This is an unprecedented pattern of deception and inference by all three branches of the Ohio government to block Issue 1 and control the private medical decisions of Ohioans. Abortion rights opponents have clearly shown us over and over again that when they think they can't win, they try and cheat. The same politicians responsible for Ohio’s extreme abortion ban have tried to mislead voters with inaccurate ballot language. We’re confident that Ohioans will see through this deception and vote Yes on Issue 1.”
Read OURR’s full statement here.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD VIRGINIA PAC RELEASES NEW GOTV AD AS COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAY BEGINS: Late last week, Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC released a new GOTV ad highlighting what’s at stake for abortion rights in Virginia this cycle. Virgina remains the only Southern state without an abortion ban and Gov. Youngkin is determined to enact one if his anti-abortion allies take control of both state legislative chambers. This final Get Out the Vote (GOTV) ad is part of Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC’s comprehensive $1.5 million plan to reach more than 150,000 voters in key districts through door knocking, phone calls, digital ads, and mail and ensure they know abortion is on the ballot. Jamie Lockhart, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC, said:
“Reproductive freedom in the Commonwealth is on the line. Governor Youngkin told us what he will do if he has an anti-abortion legislature after this election: he will ban abortion. And we know he won’t stop at 15 weeks. Youngkin has made clear that he will sign any piece of anti-abortion legislation that makes it to his desk. Virginians support abortion rights and rightly do not trust Republican politicians on the issue of abortion.
Watch the ad here.
NEW DATA SHOWS ABORTION NUMBERS IN THE FIRST YEAR WITHOUT ROE: New data from The Society of Family Planning’s #WeCount report shows an overall increase in abortions with stark disparities from state to state following the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
“This is a sign of increasing inequality of access,” said Caitlin Myers, a professor of economics at Middlebury College who studies abortion trends. In some states, abortions provided by clinicians was near zero, but they increased in states that were able to meet the needs of out-of-state patients seeking care. While there was a slight net increase in abortions nationwide, this unfortunately does not mean every person who sought abortion care was able to receive it.
The harsh reality remains that abortion access has been eliminated for millions of people across the country. Abortion is health care, and everyone deserves access to it no matter who they are or where they live.