Deadline for submitting signatures for Ohio abortion ballot nears

Published sat. July 1, 2023

Above picture: Women's March Cleveland leads some 2,500 women and their supporters via a protest for reproductive rights and abortion access held on Oct. 2, 2021 at Market Square Park in Cleveland, Ohio, a sister march to marches held in cities across the country that day spearheaded by Women's March National out of Washington, D.C. ( Photo by David Petkiewicz of the Cleveland Plain Dealer Newspaper and Cleveland.com). Ohio's largest grassroots women's rights group, Women's March Cleveland and its supporters rallied and marched again, and on June 24, 2023 outside of cleveland City Hall, a year after the Supreme Court, on June 24, 2022, overturned Roe v Wade.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com
###article class="ArtP-mainContent" style="color: rgb(117, 117, 117); font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; background-repeat: no-repeat;"> CLEVELAND,Ohio--As the July 5 deadline for submitting signatures to the secretary of state nears Ohio advocates for reproductive rights and abortion access in Ohio made their last big push collecting petition signatures over the weekend. The coalition, which includes an array of groups, including local Black and other seasoned activist groups and organizers in Cleveland that have pushed for reproductive rights for women for years, must turn in 414,000 valid signatures-by July 5 to get an abortion rights issue before voters in November as Republicans have placed a ballot initiative before voters for an Aug a 8 special election dubbed State Issue 1 It asks voters to raise the threshold for future constitutional amendments from a simple majority to a super-majority, or 60 percent of voters, an effort, say abortion supporters, to derail their perspective abortion ballot initiative for this fall.
On Monday, volunteers from across the state processed petitions collected over the weekend in Ohio's biggest cities like Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, and Toledo and in some suburban and rural areas.
Many who want to pass the constitutional amendments change say a special August election is necessary to prevent out-of-state, special interest groups from amending Ohio’s constitution Opponents of Issue 1. mostly abortion rights advocates, call the assertion political bull designed to further disenfranchise women in Ohio and to strip voters of one person-one vote. But it has also become a tug-of-war between Republicans and Democrats from the White house on down, and Ohio is center-stage.
Several who back the plan, including Secretary of State Frank LaRose,Gov Mike DeWwine and Ohio attorney general Dave Yost, all of them anti-abortion Republicans, admit the August measure is intended to attempt to put in place the higher 60% bar before the proposed abortion rights amendment appears on the ballot in November.
Polling shows the reproductive rights amendment to enshrine abortion into the Ohio constitution would likely pass with somewhere between 50 to 60% support, if the issue makes the November ballot as advocates hope. Anti-abortion groups, gun rights organizations and some big business lobby groups are pushing for the August constitutional amendment in order to make it harder to pass proposals relative to gun regulations and minimum wage, in addition to abortion . and the fight id on.
Hundreds of women in greater Cleveland, led by Women's March Cleveland. Ohio's largest grassroots women's rights group that has been fighting for reproductive rights since 2017 when Donald Trump took office as president for a first term, rallied and marched outside of Cleveland City Hall on Sat., June 24, the one-year anniversary of the overturning of Roe v wade by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022.
Women's March Cleveland head organizer Kathy Wray Coleman, a seasoned Black Cleveland activist and women's advocate who also leads the Imperial Women Coalition, called the last Saturday's event in cleveland that drew abortion supporters, elected officxials and a wealth of mainstream media a success that proves that "a people united will never be divided." She said that in spite of being slighted, Black women in Cleveland had joined the coalition to work to protect abortion access in Ohio and that taking away access to abortion for Ohio women is deplorable and unconscionable, and that " women in greater Cleveland, including Black women and community activist leaders, will stand up and fight back."
Last year, on June 24, 2022, the nations' high court ended access to abortion for women nationwide and gave individual states the authority to legislate abortion, including to restrict or outright outlaw the procedure all together, causing a firestorm of protest throughout the country.
Speakers for Saturday's march in Cleveland included elected officials and activists, including Ohio state Sen. Nickie Antonio, Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne Democratic Party Chairman David Brock, city of Cleveland community relations director and adviser to Mayor Bibb Angela Shute Woodson, and activists Genevieve Mitchell. Maosha Maybach Vales, Alfred porter Jr., and Lee Thompson and Delores Gray..
Porter leads black on Black crime Inc and spoke on the epidemic of rape and murder of cleveland women, calling out the names of several women who had been murdered or raped since the late serial killer Anthony Sowell strangled 11 Black women to death at his since demolished home on imperial avenue on Cleveland's east side. Sen Antonio, the democratic Minority Leader of the Ohio house of representatives and who's 23rd state senate district includes 14 of Cleveland' 17 wards, told the crowd that abortion access is part of family planning. Mitchell and Nina Turner wooed the audience with pro-female speeches, Mitchell speaking on the plight of Black women and Turner saying that "abortion is healthcare."

Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.