A pro-parent, pro-life group launched a $5.5 million ad buy on Tuesday ahead of the August 8 special election in Ohio that will determine how the state Constitution can be altered moving forward.
Protect Women Ohio’s (PWO) ad buy is in support of Issue 1, a ballot initiative Ohioans will vote on that would raise the threshold to pass amendments to the state constitution from 50 percent to 60 percent. If Issue 1 passes in the August 8 special election by a simple majority, a radical abortion amendment pitched by left-wing groups like the ACLU of Ohio will likely have a harder time passing in the November 2023 election.
Proponents of Issue 1 say the amendment will protect Ohio’s constitution for out-of-state special interest groups. Opponents of Issue 1, including those left-wing groups, view the amendment as an effort to stop their abortion-on-demand agenda in the state. Even so, many coalition members’ own constitutions require supermajorities to amend their bylaws.
The ad-buy includes $4.5 million on two new television ads that will run statewide on broadcast, cable, and satellite. PWO also spent $1 million on statewide radio and targeted digital advertisements. The ads will run through the special election.
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The 30-second television ads feature Cincinnati doctor and mom, Dr. Vivina Napier, and Columbus mother April Hunter. The 60-second radio spot urges Ohioans to protect parental rights from radical out-of-state special interest groups, like the ACLU, by voting “yes” on Issue 1.
“The secret is out: Ohio has some of the weakest requirements in the country for passing constitutional amendments and greedy, out-of-state special interest groups with deep pockets know it,” said Molly Smith, PWO board member. “That makes Ohio a prime target for radical special interest groups, like the ACLU, to parachute into the state and strip parents of their rights. Enough is enough. It’s time to pass Issue 1 and put long overdue, common-sense protections in place.”
PWO spent more than $3 million on television, radio and digital ads in support of Issue 1 last month, bringing its total paid media buy for the August 8 election to $9 million.
The abortion amendment PWO is fighting against, which will appear on the ballot in November in Ohio, contains overly broad language and makes no differentiation between minors and adults, instead opting to use the term “individual.” It also states that “individuals” have a “right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on: contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion,” causing some Ohio parents and legal scholars concern that the bill could eliminate parental rights and allow minors to obtain abortions and even sex mutilating procedures and cross-sex hormones without their knowledge.
The coalition pushing for unfettered abortion access includes groups like the ACLU of Ohio, Planned Parenthood, and URGE, a group that has long campaigned to end parental involvement laws.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Twitter @thekat_hamilton.
