The Quickie: New Polling: Ohio Overwhelmingly Supports Repro Rights Ballot Initiative
For Immediate Release: July 24, 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: new OH polling on upcoming ballot initiatives and anti-abortion politicians in IA seek to unblock 6-week abortion ban.
NEW OHIO POLLING: MAJORITIES SUPPORT REPRO RIGHTS BALLOT INITIATIVE & OPPOSE ANTI-DEMOCRATIC INITIATIVE RULES CHANGE: Today, USA Today and Suffolk University released new polling showing that a majority of Ohio voters support the reproductive freedom ballot initiative set to be voted on in November. Voters support the amendment by an almost 2-to-1 margin, with 58% of those polled in support and another 10% undecided. Notably, one-third of Republicans and 85% of independent women support the amendment, demonstrating its strong bipartisan appeal. 70% of young voters (aged 18 to 34) also support the amendment.
Voters also overwhelmingly oppose an August 8th ballot initiative that would raise the threshold for a constitutional amendment to pass. The ballot initiative was rammed through approval by anti-abortion politicians in an attempt to disrupt the November abortion rights amendment. If approved by voters, the constitutional amendment would change the threshold from a simple majority vote to a supermajority of 60% for voter approval. Ohio voters are seeing through this transparently anti-democratic move: the new polling finds that by more than a 2-to-1 margin, Ohioans oppose the rule change, with 57% of voters saying they will vote “no” compared to 26% ready to vote “yes.”
With Indiana set to ban all abortions in August and the fate of abortion rights in Iowa in the balance, Ohio is even more critical for abortion access. For months, Planned Parenthood health centers in Ohio have worked to address increased demand and have been preparing to see even more patients from out-of-state.
“We are not unused to having people travel to the state of Ohio,” Danielle Firsich, Director of Public Policy at Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, told the OCJ. “But it’s not an easy thing to have to travel to another state for abortion care, especially if you’re dealing with fetal viability (timelines) and the health of the mother… Ohio is a critical state right now in the battle for reproductive rights… We’re doing everything we can to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution. This is the only manner in which we can check the legislature’s powers right now.”
Check out the full polling data at USA Today, and read more about the state of abortion access in Ohio at Ohio Capital Journal.
GOV. REYNOLDS APPEALS TO IOWA SUPREME COURT, ASKING TO UNBLOCK LATEST ABORTION BAN: On Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds filed an appeal to the state’s Supreme Court, asking the court to review — and overturn — a district court’s decision to temporarily block Iowa’s six-week abortion ban. The law briefly went into effect on July 14 before being blocked by a Polk County district court on July 17.
“This appeal is yet another dangerous attempt to force politicians into Iowans’ exam rooms. We remain committed to protecting the right of all Iowans to access abortion care and are prepared to fight the state’s appeal,” said Ruth Richardson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States. "Make no mistake: despite this appeal, the temporary injunction against the six-week ban remains in effect. Abortion is legal in Iowa. We will continue to provide the compassionate abortion care that Iowans need and deserve as we await the next ruling.”
Read more at Iowa Capital Dispatch.