VOICES: Dobbs decision is not the end of the fight — it’s the beginning of a movement

This past July 4th weekend should have been a celebration. For some Americans, however, many basic freedoms are coming to an end. The separation of church and state is blurred. And we are finding our way relitigating issues from the past.

One of the most essential tenets of freedom is the right to privacy — the right to live our own lives in our own homes without government interference. Bipartisan majorities of U.S. Supreme Court justices have upheld and reinforced the right to privacy for generations.

Last month, the conservative-controlled U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Dobbs v. Jackson to overturn Roe v. Wade. The Dobbs decision ended federal protection for abortion rights and granted that authority back to individual states. This resulted in dozens of states — including Ohio — banning abortion without exemptions for rape or incest.

Ohio’s Republican controlled government now has the power to force its residents, which includes children, to give birth when they become pregnant. In fact, hours after the Dobbs decision, Ohio’s MAGA Republican supermajority successfully forced a 6-week abortion ban into law. The 6-week ban has already made an abused 10-year-old child seek abortion care outside of Ohio.

Proponents of abortion bans are celebrating the states’ rights angle of Dobbs. States’ rights have historically been used as suppressive tactics against the poor and disadvantaged. Leaving it up to the states, like Ohio, will result in the extremist views of a few being etched into law and forced on all Ohioans.

For example, Ohio House Bill 480 permits private citizens to sue other private citizens for at least $10,000 for aiding and abetting in abortion care services. This is a bounty hunting bill akin to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. In Ohio House Bill 598, there is broad language that purportedly bans access to plan B contraceptive pills, which is sold over the counter in retail pharmacies.

One out of every five Ohio children does not know where their next meal is coming from. Over half a million Ohio children live in poverty. And Ohio spends far less on child and family programs than most other states. Furthermore, the people who support government mandated pregnancies often fail to support social programs that will help these very same families post birth.

It is ironic that Paid Family and Medical Leave, increases to the minimum wage, paid maternity leave, paid sick days, increases to WIC, increases to SNAP, and increases to housing subsidies are all blocked by the very same Republican politicians who worked to criminalize abortion.

This cannot be the end of the fight — but the beginning of a movement. Most Americans and Ohioans support the basic human right to decide what happens to our own bodies.

It’s time for the majority to speak with one voice that cannot be ignored. We must not allow an illegitimate minority to take away our personal freedoms. Our participatory democracy will only work and survive through active participation.

Ohioans must commit to voting in every single election, especially for state and local elections. Mark this year’s election date in your calendar: November 8, 2022.

Desiree Tims is the President & CEO of Innovation Ohio.

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