On 10 May, a group of religious leaders huddled to pray in a circle in front of the Ohio state capitol. Inside the statehouse, Republicans were voting on a bill that could thwart advocates’ efforts to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
In the group of clergy was the Rev Terry Williams, a pastor who lives in a small town about 50 miles (80km) south of Columbus. When a congregant confided in Williams in 2012 that she needed an abortion, the pastor struggled to find a clinic – there are currently only six in the state of Ohio. The experience drew Williams into reproductive health advocacy.
“It was overwhelming,” said Williams. “I just became radicalized. I went from being the parish minister that helps people to being also the guy that goes and yells at the legislature.”
As Ohio law currently stands, voters can amend the state constitution by a direct vote with a simple majority. If it passes this November, one such ballot initiative – brought forward by Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights and Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom – would codify the right to abortion in the Ohio constitution.
But Republicans in the Ohio house of representatives passed a proposal on 10 May that could make it much harder for that abortion rights measure to pass by requiring a supermajority vote for ballot measures. The proposal, Senate Joint Resolution 2 (SJR-2), is scheduled to come before voters in an August special election.
Opponents of the bill have already filed suit to...
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