[UPDATE 9:20 p.m. Eastern] Decision Desk HQ has called the election in Ohio, projecting that both ballot measures have passed. Issue 1, which enshrines abortion and other "reproductive rights" in the state constitution, has been adopted by a ratio of 56% to 44% with 52% of the vote counted. Issue 2, which legalizes recreational marijuana use, also passed 56% to 44% with 52% of the vote counted. While the final numbers may change, at this time, it looks certain that both measures have prevailed, and Ohio has chosen a radical left-wing trajectory.
[ORIGINAL POST 2:17 p.m. Eastern] In today's off-year elections, Ohioans are deciding on two major ballot initiatives. The first, Issue 1, seeks to enshrine (basically unlimited) abortion in the Ohio constitution. Issue 2 would legalize marijuana and institute the Marxist socialist economic infrastructure that always seems to accompany such measures.
ISSUE 1
Issue 1 was conceived by enraged abortion fans after Ohio enacted a so-called "heartbeat ban" on the practice. The ban took effect mere hours after the U.S. Supreme Court handed such decisions back to the states in June of 2022 with its ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case.
"The proposed amendment, called Issue 1 on the ballot, would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution up until viability, which is the point when a fetus can survive outside the uterus with reasonable measures," says the Akron Beacon Journal. "This is typically around 24 weeks gestation. Doctors could perform abortions after that point to save a pregnant patient's life or health."
As if killing and extracting a 23-week-six-day-old baby weren't ghoulish enough, PJ Media's Paula Bolyard explained how, in reality, the amendment would permit infanticide up to the moment of birth:
The language states that abortion "may" be prohibited after fetal viability, "But in no case may such an abortion be prohibited if in the professional judgment of the pregnant patient's treating physician it is necessary to protect the pregnant patient's life or health."
That "may" means the abortion doctor gets to decide whether carrying the child to term would harm the mother's physical or mental health—that includes things like depression, anxiety, and other feelings that could be characterized as mental health issues. It's the abortion lobby's dirty little secret that "mental health" in this context can be stretched to mean almost anything, which gives abortion doctors a free pass to kill babies at any and every stage of gestation.
Naturally, this thoroughly radical initiative is rife with the inane gender gibberish the left has pioneered on the subject. There are no "women" or "mothers" in the language, just the usual "pregnant people." It can also be construed to allow minors to get abortions without parental permission, or even notification.
Paula also revealed that "Boatloads of cash have poured into the state to support the abortion-on-demand amendment, including $3.5 million from George Soros's Open Society Policy Center, $3.2 million from the ACLU, and $2.5 million from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. To date, the pro-abortion minions have raised $41 million, to the opposition's $29 million."
It would be tragic and dehumanizing for the state of Ohio if this extreme amendment passes, but sadly, Soros bucks have a pretty solid track record of election success.
More Election Day news:
The Virginia Legislature Election Is a Bellwether for the Nation and a Referendum for Gov. Youngkin
Off-Year Elections in Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island
ISSUE 2
Ohioans also decide today whether to legalize recreational marijuana. This ballot initiative would create a state-wide statutory right for adults to possess, use, and share limited quantities of weed. Never mind that this would violate federal law; Democrats have long ignored laws and rulings they dislike.
Pot foe Angela Phillips issued a statement saying, "This campaign will be like David vs. Goliath and it won’t be easy, but it is necessary if we want to avoid the deterioration that we have seen afflict other states who were tricked into believing the marijuana lie." The Phillips Tube Group CEO added, "Recreational marijuana will forever damage Ohio, our communities, our schools and our workplaces if we let this happen here." I live and vacation in states that have already taken this sorry step, and I can attest.
The initiative would create a new Division of Cannabis Control in the Ohio Department of Commerce and set up a tidy racist, socialist framework to divert public money to patronage groups.
We turn again to the Akron Beacon Journal to explain the statute's social equity program:
This program aims to help business owners who are disadvantaged based on their race, gender, ethnicity or economic status. It would also apply to people who have been arrested or convicted of a marijuana-related offense.
Under the proposed statute, the program would provide participants with grants, loans and technical assistance. Eligible operators would have at least 50% of their license or application fees waived.
The program would also encourage diverse hiring practices; study and propose policy reforms related to the effects of marijuana enforcement; and track and prevent the underage use of marijuana.
Step right up and get your baggie of gubmint weed with a side of taxpayer-funded DEI!
Hopefully, red Ohio will dodge these bad decisions and stay true to itself, but polling up until now hasn't been encouraging.
Stay tuned right here to see the results:
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