Hey Ohio, Early Voting On Your Abortion Rights Has Begun!
Your weekly reproductive rights roundup!
Early voting started on Wednesday for the upcoming Ohio election, the only election this year in which abortion rights are explicitly on the ballot. Given the fact that every single abortion-related ballot measure since Dobbs has come out in favor of legal abortion, the forced birth contingent really have their hearts set on winning this one and have been pulling out all the stops to get their people to the polls.
“It’s important to win here so that we can demonstrate to the rest of the nation how you win ballot initiatives,” said Peter Range, the CEO of Ohio Right to Life and a board member of the ironically named group Protect Women Ohio, told Politico. “The nation is watching what happens here.”
Governor Mike DeWine, who signed the bill that made abortion illegal after embryonic cardiac pole activity is detectable — they call them, incorrectly, “heartbeats” — has reached the bargaining stage and is now pleading with Ohioans to just please, please vote against this initiative, claiming that it is just “too radical” (it is not) and that if they just don’t vote for it, there can maybe be a compromise someday!
“If we’re able to defeat this, then I think we can come together as a state and find a place where a majority of Ohioans can, in fact, agree,” said DeWine the spider to the fly.
Abortion rights supporters are also mobilizing the troops and do appear headed for victory. The special election this summer to raise the voting threshold to amend the constitution from 50 percent to 60 percent failed … and polls show that about 59 percent of Ohioans want abortion to be legal.
And it’s not just Democrats! One Republican fella told the AP that he voted for abortion rights despite being a Republican. “I’m fairly conservative, but I’m also married and have daughters and granddaughters,” he said.
We’ll take it! You know, it’s easy to assume that all Republicans are anti-abortion, but a Pew Research poll found that 38 percent of them actually believe it should be legal in all or most circumstances. Turns out, they just hate poor people more than they love reproductive rights!
Even New Jersey Republicans Know Enough To Pretend To Be Skeeved By This Guy
A few GOP lawmakers have come forward this week to release a joint statement to Politico condemning some of the particularly grotesque things New Jersey state Sen. Ed Durr said and liked about abortion on social media … after an ad came out criticizing them not doing that in the first place.
“The social media posts by Senator Ed Durr were offensive and unacceptable. They don’t represent us or what we believe in any way,” the statement read.
The ad specifically refers to a post written by Durr that read, “A woman does have a choice! Keep her legs closed,” as well as a post he “liked” that called for “spaying women like dogs.”
Of course, they used the opportunity to jab Democrats, calling the ads “wildly dishonest” and accusing them of pushing a “radical agenda,” much of which appears to be largely imaginary.
“New Jersey Democrats know their extreme and radical agenda of attacking parental rights in our schools, banning gas cars and stoves, and building giant wind turbines off the Jersey Shore is deeply unpopular with voters,” the Republicans said. “These wildly dishonest attack ads are a last-ditch attempt to change the subject. It will fail on November 7.”
No one is banning gas cars and stoves, the wind turbines are necessary, and “parental rights” shouldn’t mean that parents should get to determine what books kids who aren’t their kids can read. Glad we got that cleared up!
Idaho Temporarily Barred From Forcing Women To Die In Childbirth
Earlier this week, an appeals court blocked Idaho’s near total abortion ban in response to a lawsuit from the Biden administration alleging that the law violates the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires doctors and hospitals to do what is necessary to stabilize patients in emergency situations.
The Biden administration argues that this could apply to abortions that need to be performed for emergency reasons beyond the state’s very narrow “life of the mother” exception. These exceptions basically mean nothing because a doctor can only use their best judgment and there’s never going to be a full guarantee that someone is going to survive or die during childbirth. That’s not how making medical calls works, and if it did, no one would ever die in childbirth. Which they do. Especially in the United States.
Glenn Youngkin Is Betting Big On Attacking Abortion Rights
In hopes of flipping the Democratic majority in the Virginia General Assembly, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC is dropping $1.4 million on anti-abortion ads. This is, clearly, a very smart thing to do in a state with majority support for abortion rights. Especially given how incredibly unsuccessful the forced birth position has been at the ballot box.
Right now, abortion is legal up to 26 weeks in Virginia, and after that as long as the patient’s doctor and two other doctors sign off on one being necessary for the life or health of the mother.
Youngkin is hoping that a Republican majority will allow him to pass a bill outlawing the procedure after 15 weeks, which it doesn’t seem anyone but him is really asking for.
Countering Youngkin’s ad buy, Planned Parenthood also announced this week that it plans to spend $2 million on a campaign to keep that ban from happening.
“When it comes to their reproductive rights, Virginians trust Planned Parenthood and know they can’t trust Glenn Youngkin. Glenn Youngkin told us what he will do if he has an anti-abortion legislature after this election: he will ban abortion. And we know he won’t stop at 15 weeks. Governor Youngkin has made clear that he will sign any piece of anti-abortion legislation that makes it to his desk. This ban he is arguing for is just the beginning. We need to ensure that these deeply personal decisions stay between a patient and their provider, not politicians,” said Jamie Lockhart, executive director of the Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC, said in a statement.
“That's why we're expending all possible resources to ensure that Virginians know which candidates will defend their rights and ensure their access to reproductive health care here in Virginia,” Lockhart continued. “It is our responsibility to ensure Virginia voters know that these anti-abortion extremists will stop at nothing to take away their rights. We have to make sure they don’t have that opportunity.”
Between Public owned electric utilities and allowing women to have complete control of their bodies, Wonkette is a super happy place. And I like you all.
***“It’s important to win here so that we can demonstrate to the rest of the nation how you win ballot initiatives,” said Peter Range, the CEO of Ohio Right to Life.***
Who ideally will not be within peter range of anyone ever again.