Ohio\u2019s Issue One is on the ballot. It\u2019s really pretty simple. Either a woman can make her own choice about her own body, including whether to have an abortion, or she can\u2019t. If Issue One fails, the state of Ohio has waiting in the wings the \u201cHeartbeat Bill\u201d. It specifically bans all abortions after six weeks with limited exceptions. The state legislature (not medical science) has decided a heartbeat is detectable at six weeks. There is a rhythmic nerve impulse, but it\u2019s not a heart. The limited exceptions are: death or irreversible damage to the mother or ectopic pregnancies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I respect my friends who disagree with abortion. Many of them have the religious belief that human life begins at conception. They absolutely have the right to believe that, and to live their lives upholding that view. But I don\u2019t believe that they have a right to enforce that religious view on other citizens who don\u2019t share it. That is, by definition, Un-American, essentially creating a state religion. So while there is an honest and respectable disagreement about abortion, it shouldn\u2019t be in law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I also realize that many Ohioans, even some of my close friends, believe that by banning almost all abortions, they are protecting human life. They see themselves as the modern \u201cabolitionists\u201d. And I expect that those friends will vote accordingly on November 7th<\/sup>, and try to defeat Issue One. I disagree. But they have the right to their own opinion, and I respect their desire to voice that view on the ballot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What I do not respect, is the gamesmanship, the twisting of facts, and the outright lying that is going on about what Ohio\u2019s Issue One will do. Let\u2019s start with the twisted language that will appear as the \u201csummary\u201d of Issue One on the Ohio ballot. Instead of putting the actual amendment wording on, the \u201csummary\u201d twists the proposal to something else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That language was written by the Republican Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, one of the leaders of the anti-abortion movement and a candidate for the US Senate. Since when in our \u201cfair\u201d government, does the leader of one faction get to choose the language for the other faction? Since now, I guess: like a lot of other things it\u2019s \u201cfair\u201d, at least here in Ohio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What I also do not respect, is the \u201cwhat-about-ism\u201d; the falsehoods , distributed by the \u201cVote No on Issue One\u201d Campaign. To read their propaganda, Issue One is a whole list of \u201cWoke\u201d talking points. But the actual proposal is not. It\u2019s about guaranteeing a woman\u2019s right to make a choice about what happens to their own body. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Issue One does guarantee some things:<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat About<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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What It Is<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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