Who wrote the actual language of the proposed Ohio Constitutional amendment known as Issue One? Apparently, no one knows or is willing to disclose the true authorship. Is this a coincidence or an attempt at humility? Creating a new human right and “enshrining” it in a state constitution would seem to merit some acclaim of authorship. At least the people being asked to vote to place this new right in their Constitution should have the right to ask for an honest disclosure on the source.
Perhaps this lack of transparency is not a coincidence, nor is the construction of the actual amendment. The actual language of Issue One reads much more like a law or statute from the Ohio Revised Code and not like a part of the Ohio Constitution. Issue One is much longer than almost all the 20 specific rights enunciated in Ohio Bill of Rights. Proponents claim the amendment enshrines the “right to abortion” in the Constitution but of the 232 words in the amendment text the word “abortion” only appears three times.
Abortion is only one of the five rights articulated in the sentence that defines the actual intent of the amendment, which is to secure the right to “reproductive decisions”. Abortion is listed last on that list of five new rights. The language reads:
“Every individual has the right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on: 1) contraception; 2) fertility treatment; 3) continuing one’s own pregnancy; 4) miscarriage care; and 5) abortion.”
If the purpose of the Amendment is to “enshrine” abortion in the Ohio Constitution, why is abortion last on the list? Where did the other four reproductive decision rights come from?
Planned Parenthood is the largest and most recognized abortion provider in the United States. All combined their revenue in 2022 was over 1.9 billion dollars. On page 29 of their 2022 annual report, Planned Parenthood lists a breakdown of services provided by their affiliates. These include contraceptive services, infertility services, reproductive health services, miscarriage care and abortion.
In addition to receiving revenue for the 374,155 abortions procedures Planned Parenthood carried out nationwide in 2022, the organization received a much larger amount of annual revenue from “Government Health Services Reimbursements and Grants” and “Private Contributions and Requests”. In all Planned Parenthood receives far more money annually from these government grants and contributions than from providing abortion services.
Planned Parenthood (PPFI) and their Ohio affiliate know as Planned Parenthood Greater Ohio share the same basic business plan.
By writing the Ohio Constitutional Amendment to include the specific services Planned Parenthood provides, the organization is protecting all their corporate revenue streams. They are in essence, writing their business model into the state constitution. This gives them a level of legal privilege far beyond what other corporations have in Ohio.
There is more evidence of this linkage dating back to 2016. That year the Ohio Legislature passed a bill to defund organizations that provide or promote “non-therapeutic abortions.” Governor John Kasich signed that legislation. Planned Parenthood in Ohio took the matter to federal court and lost the case. In 2019, the state of Ohio withdrew state and federal grant funding in the total of $600,000 from Planned Parenthood in Ohio.
Regarding the five new rights of reproductive decisions, Issue One states in section B:
“The State shall not directly or indirectly burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with, or discriminate against either:
- An individual’s voluntary exercise of this right or
- A person or entity that assists an individual exercising this right,
unless the State demonstrates that it is using the least restrictive means to advance the individual’s health in accordance with widely accepted and evidence-based standards of care.”
Planned Parenthood clearly fits into the definition of an entity that assists in the exercise of the five rights described in Issue One. Should Issue One be adopted by the voters of Ohio, Planned Parenthood could reapply and receive certain state and federal funds controlled by the State of Ohio and prior funding cuts would be eliminated. Any further attempts by the Ohio Legislature to restrict funding would be prohibited by the language of Issue One.
In 2016, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio took note of the Ohio legislation to restrict certain funds from Planned Parenthood. In a fundraising letter he noted that: “Senate Democrats have prevented Washington Republicans from defunding Planned Parenthood. But inside the state legislatures of South Dakota, Texas, Kansas, and Wisconsin (just to name a few) anti-choice extremists are running amok. Here in Ohio, Governor Kasich just signed a bill to defund Planned Parenthood.”
This further evidence makes it clear that Planned Parenthood and their political allies have been actively seeking measures to protect their access to state and federal grant money which is clearly being contested in state legislatures. Does that debate give Planned Parenthood the right to write their revenue funding plan into the Ohio constitution?
Finally, it is important to note that of the five new rights laid out in the language of Issue One, only abortion is a matter of constitutional or legislative debate. There is no significant legal contest in the state of Ohio regarding regulations on contraception, fertility treatments, continuing one’s own pregnancy or miscarriage care. There is no logical or legal reason to make these measures, which are readily available, into uniquely protected constitutional rights. So why have the undisclosed authors placed these measures into Issue One? If anyone can find the authors of this proposed amendment, it would be a most important question to raise.