Access to abortion won once again in the United States. This time in Ohio.
This new vote, which registered a good turnout despite an inauspicious date, represents a severe setback for the aspirations of the Republicans, who dominate the state, and represents another clear warning. The right to decide for women is confirmed as a decisive force in the electoral race for the 2024 presidential elections, a matter that extends beyond party boundaries.
“This is a great victory for democracy,” President Joe Biden proclaimed in a statement, on a tour of the American West. His reaction was immediate. It was fast.
The referendum actually did not contain the word abortion at all. But his shadow is more than long. The supposed summer drowsiness was transformed with the Ohio appointment into a national dispute on one of the hottest issues.
Republicans, who control the state legislature, called the polls for a tricky impeachment inquiry, a Houdini-style rush forward. What was on the ballot was “Issue 1”, which consisted of raising the threshold to 60% to introduce amendments to the state Constitution and complicate the electoral initiatives that are taken to a referendum, whose approval now only requires a simple majority.
His argument, which was defeated on Tuesday night by 57% to 43% (two out of three were opposed) focused on the fact that these initiatives should be used for issues of "special interest" and that the amendment process should not be hijacked in benefit of the interested parties.
There was background. Following the annulment by the Supreme Court last year of the national right to terminate a pregnancy, which put the ball in the court of the states, the Ohio legislature, an increasingly conservative and pro-Trump territory, shortly after approved one of the America's most restrictive abortion laws.
State courts have yet to decide on the constitutionality or otherwise of those regulations. But a grassroots movement in Ohio prompted a response that garnered the signatures needed to bring an amendment in favor of abortion rights to a referendum next November. This amendment to the new law would give women legal control over reproductive decisions. This would allow doctors to diagnose the need for abortions and prevent the state from regulating until the fetus was deemed viable.
If they win by a tenth more than 50%, the amendment will be approved. Kansas, Kentucky and Montana have already voted in favor of these rights, which meant that the Republicans were fleeced.
Because of this, the Ohio call emerged as another test and potential barometer of the political climate going into 2024.
