ANTI-PARENT AMENDMENT BACKERS ADMIT OPPOSITION TO PARENTS’ RIGHTS , NEED TO ELIMINATE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
“Issue 1 backers are finally admitting what we have been saying all along: that this amendment is an anti-parent trojan horse.”
-Amy Natoce, press secretary for Protect Women Ohio
COLUMBUS, OH — Today Protect Women Ohio (PWO) responded to the executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio, Kellie Copeland’s recent comments affirming opposition to parental consent laws and the need to “work on” eliminating them.
Press secretary for Protect Women Ohio, Amy Natoce, said, “Issue 1 backers are finally admitting what we have been saying all along: that this amendment is an anti-parent trojan horse. Issue 1 would wipe away existing and future parental involvement laws, cutting parents out of some of the most important and life-altering decisions affecting their child. Not only that but the proposed amendment outlaws any protections for women and unborn children, even through the ninth month of pregnancy. This amendment is way too extreme for Ohio.”
Likewise, the Cincinnati Enquirer confirms the point PWO has been making from day one: “The Ohio Constitution would supersede state law, where most abortion policy is written.”
Pro-Choice Ohio is part of the coalition behind the amendment proposal now known as Issue 1. For months, proponents of Issue 1 have been denying it puts parental rights on the chopping block. But targeting parental rights is nothing new to the coalition behind Issue 1 in Ohio, including the ACLU which drafted the amendment.
In Michigan, abortion activists are already going after parental consent laws – not even a year after a measure similar to Issue 1 in Ohio was approved.
And when asked if the coalition behind Issue 1 had considered putting explicit language in the amendment that protects parental rights – like what was done in Florida where abortion activists are attempting to put a similar measure on the ballot in 2024 – Copeland replied, “Not really. You know we wanted to make sure that people who needed care could get it, and that was the clearest language to ensure that.”
Also, when asked directly during a July press conference Copeland was unable to rule out that the amendment permits gruesome late term abortions.
An amendment to the Ohio Constitution would trump any state law, including parental consent requirements or any limits on abortion passed by the state legislature.
Background on the ACLU’s anti-parent November ballot initiative:
This extreme anti-parent amendment is just the latest example of the ACLU’s war on parental rights. Background on the ACLU’s war on parents is available HERE. The ACLU has a long and well-documented history of fighting against parental rights, including in Alaska and Indiana. The ACLU specifically calls out parental involvement on its website, saying it would restrict “teenagers’ access to abortion.” Heritage Action recently released a report and video about the ACLU’s attacks on parental rights in Ohio. In recent weeks, the ACLU has denounced parental notification requirements in schools, and the ACLU of Ohio’s chief lobbyist confirmed that stance on Twitter.
A legal analysis of the extreme anti-parent amendment is available HERE from constitutional scholars Carrie Campbell Severino, President of Judicial Crisis Network, and Frank J. Scaturro, a former special counsel to the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives.
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Protect Women Ohio is a pro-parent, pro-woman, pro-life coalition dedicated to defeating the ACLU’s extreme anti-parent amendment this November. PWO is made up of concerned family and life leaders, parents, health and medical experts, and faith leaders in Ohio.
To learn more please visit www.protectwomenohio.com.