Josie Morrow

Issue one signs sit in front yards around Ohio as the November 7th election approaches.

As winter looms in Ohio, election season is heating up and with it comes the most important ballot issue of the past decade — Issue One.
Issue One, if approved, would create the constitutional right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions including but not limited to decisions about abortion, contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriage care, and continuing pregnancy, and allow the state to restrict abortion after fetal viability.”
If the Constitutional amendment is put into place, it would guarantee the right for Ohioans to have access to abortion care.
However, if it does not pass, the Ohio heartbeat bill would go into effect, limiting abortion rights with the possibility of an even more extreme ban in the future.
While on the surface this issue seems to be primarily about abortion rights, it stems deeper into Ohioans’ access to maternal care.

After the Dobbs v. Jackson U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer, doctors across the country began to make the tough decision to leave states with abortion restrictions in place—Ohio being one of them.
In a survey of 500 medical students, nearly 60 percent reported that they were unlikely to apply for residence in a state with restrictive abortion laws.
Ohio cannot afford this loss of doctors as the state has the 12th highest number of health professional shortage areas and over a dozen counties that qualify as maternity care deserts.

When these deserts occur there is an increased number of maternal mortality, health deficiencies of low birth weight infants and infant death.

On top of the lack of access to maternity care that would come from Issue One not passing, a study done by the Guttmacher Institute confirmed that laws that seek to limit abortions may not lower the rate of abortions but will only make them less safe.
The only proven way to lower abortion rates is through proper access to birth control, comprehensive sex education, and maternal care—all of which would be threatened by Issue One not passing.
As the election approaches, the importance of Issue One looms not just over the state of abortion rights, but over quality access to healthcare for more than half of Ohioans. The reality is that pro-life groups would rather regulate women’s bodies than reduce abortion rates. Vote yes on Issue One as the future of Ohio healthcare depends on it.