COLUMBUS, Ohio — The reaction from Ohio advocates from abortion rights was simple and straightforward when it came to Sen. Lindsey Graham’s proposed federal abortion ban.
“As always, not a fan,” said Cole Wojdacz, statewide field manager for Pro-Choice Ohio. “Republicans weren’t satisfied with the Supreme Court sending this issue back to the states, and now that they see voters in places like Kansas voting to protect abortion rights, they are moving to ban abortions from coast to coast.”
On Tuesday, Sen. Graham introduced legislation that would ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases where a mother’s life is in danger.
“Any effort to affirm life and to affirm the dignity and sanctity of human life is always an effort to be praised, so I was definitely pleased to see that from a federal level,” said Elizabeth Whitmarsh, director of communications for Ohio Right to Life.
But it’s not just Democrats and abortion rights advocates who are criticizing the proposed legislation. Some Republicans are pushing back as well, pointing out that, after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, the talking point was that abortion decisions should be left up to the state. Graham’s proposal flies in the face of that.
“I can definitely understand why somebody would call that out,” Whitmarsh said. “Bringing that back to a 15-week ban, that’s definitely not impeding on any woman’s right to choose. It’s still giving her plenty of time to go out and choose to get an abortion in states that do have it legal. I don’t think that it’s impeding on that. I think that it’s really just bringing it to a reasonable standpoint.”
For Wojdacz, the decision did not come as much of a surprise.
“Honestly it’s pretty par for the course,” she said. “We see this again and again in the abortion rights movement, and then we also see it in other matters, such as gerrymandering, especially in Ohio. This instance of the rules of the game being changed, and so people start playing by those new rules starts going in a way that Republicans, in particular, don’t particularly enjoy, and so then they try to change the rules again.”
Of course, since the Dobbs decision, Ohio has had an even more restrictive ban in place under the so-called heartbeat bill. It bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. But, on Wednesday, a judge temporarily blocked that so-called heartbeat law for 14 days. That means abortions through 20 weeks of gestation can continue for now.
Regardless of what happens with this decision, other legislation is still working through the state legislature. That includes the Enact Human Life Protection Act.
"Ohio Right to Life, we’re not going to stop until every human being is given that privilege, the right to life, the right to just not be killed, so that’s what our message is going to be is that, regardless of what the federal government chooses to do, Ohio is dedicated to protecting every single human being, including those that are in the womb,” Whitmarsh said.
On the opposing end, Pro-Choice Ohio is still fighting to restore more abortion access. And Wojdacz says one of the best ways to do that is by going to the polls.
“I think that the most important thing to remember is just that it doesn’t have to be this way,” she said. “Ohioans can turn out to vote this November and elect pro-choice candidates, and that will send a crystal-clear message to our government that we are not playing around and that these oppressive restrictions will not be tolerated.”