Who's responsible for this ad?

This is a traditional candidate ad paid for by Donnelly for Supreme Court, Stewart for Ohio Supreme Court, and Forbes for Justice committees. 

From Jan. 2023 to September 2024, Michael Donnelly’s campaign committee has received over half a million dollars ($752,918.98 including monetary and in-kind donations). In the September 2024 report, his campaign reported having $690,764.10 available to spend in the race. To see contributions to candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court, visit the Ohio Secretary of State’s website. Examine top donations here.

From Jan. 2023 to September 2024, Melody Stewart’s campaign committee has received over half a million dollars ($643,348.73 including monetary and in-kind donations). In the September 2024 report, her campaign reported having $634,450.90 available to spend in the race. To see contributions to candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court, visit the Ohio Secretary of State’s website. Examine top donations here.

From Jan. 2023 to September 2024, Lisa Forbes’ campaign committee has received over half a million dollars ($729,161.55 including monetary and in-kind donations). In the September 2024 report, her campaign reported having $607,498 available to spend in the race. To see contributions to candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court, visit the Ohio Secretary of State’s website. Examine top donations here.

Discussion and Analysis

Analysis from Professor Jessie Hill from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Professor Hill’s research focuses on constitutional law and civil rights. She also directs the law school’s Reproductive Rights Law Initiative.

This ad is seeking to raise awareness that, although a solid majority of Ohioans (almost 57%) voted last November to enshrine reproductive rights, including abortion rights, in the Ohio Constitution, the legal battles are not yet over. The Ohio Supreme Court will be the ultimate arbiter of the meaning of the Ohio reproductive freedom amendment. The ad also takes a clear stand on which individuals are more likely to do so fairly and objectively, highlighting the fact that anti-abortion groups (such as Ohio Right to Life) have thrown their support behind the opponents of these three candidates.

When Ohioans adopted an amendment to the Ohio Constitution protecting abortion rights, this change did not automatically remove or repeal any laws banning or restricting abortion; those laws remain on the books until the legislature acts to repeal them or a court declares them unconstitutional. In fact, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has taken the position that all of these laws are constitutional and enforceable, other than the six-week abortion ban. On October 24, 2024, a Hamilton County Common Pleas Court judge issued a permanent injunction against the state’s “heartbeat bill” banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy on the basis of the abortion-rights amendment.

Attorneys representing Ohio abortion providers have sued to block a number of restrictions. These include a 24-hour waiting period and in-person informed consent requirement for abortion, which combine to force most patients to make two separate trips to a clinic in order to access care; limitations on prescribing the early abortion medication mifepristone, which is favored by a majority of those seeking abortions across the country; laws banning the use of telehealth for prescribing abortion medication; and red-tape laws unrelated to patient health or safety that threaten to shutter the two abortion clinics in Southwest Ohio.

All of these cases are still working their way through the court system in Ohio, and the last stop will be the Ohio Supreme Court. This ad is making the case that Donnelly, Stewart, and Forbes will be far less hostile to the amendment and its purpose than their Right-to-Life-backed opponents, so Donnelly, Stewart, and Forbes will interpret the law “fairly and honestly.” The ad encourages the audience to “put safety first,” which may be intended to make the audience think of the many cases across the country in which women have suffered serious health consequences, and even death, after being denied abortion care. Finally, the ad urges us not to stop fighting for our rights, so as to remind us that the fight over abortion access is far from over in Ohio.

Of course, everyone should hope and assume that all judges will interpret the law fairly and objectively, regardless of the judge’s political party. Their job is to give effect to both the language of the law and the intent of the voters. But given the high salience of the abortion issue in Ohio politics, there is good reason to be concerned that a hostile Ohio Supreme Court could interpret the law in a way that makes it almost meaningless. This ad therefore highlights an issue that remains important to Ohio voters.