Four Ohio Republican state lawmakers are seeking to strip judges of their power to interpret an abortion rights amendment.

Four Ohio Republican state lawmakers are seeking to strip judges of their power to interpret an abortion rights amendment, after voters opted to enshrine those rights in the state’s constitution this week. Republican state Reps. Jennifer Gross, Bill Dean, Melanie Miller and Beth Lear say they’ll push to have the Legislature, not the courts, make any decisions about the amendment passed last Tuesday. It’s the latest development in the struggle over abortion rights between the Republican-dominated Legislature and the majority of the voters, who passed the amendment by a margin of 57% to 43%. Abortion rights advocates plan to ask the courts to repeal any remaining abortion bans and restrictions on the books in Ohio, including a mandatory 24-hour period that abortion seekers must wait before they can have the procedure and a ban on abortions after a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome. House Speaker, Jason Stephens declined to comment. Stephens was among the dozens of legislative Republicans who have vowed to fight back against the new amendment. If the amendment or any other abortion restrictions were to end up being challenged in the courts, it’s unclear how they would fare. The state Supreme Court has a conservative majority and has the final say over state constitutional issues.

 

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