The justices that sit on the Supreme Court of Ohio are elected by you, the voter.
Abortion Forward Alliance is committed to educating voters across Ohio about the importance of this lesser-known branch of state government. In 2023, Ohio voters turned out in record numbers to pass the Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment. But that was just the first in many steps to ensure that ALL Ohioans have access to the reproductive healthcare they need. Everyone who cares about protecting abortion access needs to know about the critical role the courts will play in implementing the Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment.
The passage of the Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment did not change specific sections of state laws. Instead, it creates a carefully written framework to give policymakers, advocates, attorneys — and especially courts — very clear guidance on how to review any policy impacting reproductive healthcare.
Over the last several decades, dozens of unjust policies have been passed by politicians restricting and sometimes directly blocking access to abortion care. Each of these will have to be challenged in court. Who sits on the Ohio Supreme Court will ultimately decide how many of Ohio’s draconian and harmful abortion restrictions will be struck down.
We’ve already seen unwillingness to listen to voters from officials like Ohio’s attorney general. We know that anti-abortion elected officials are going to stop at nothing to try to keep these harmful abortion restrictions on the books. That means appeals from the AG’s office will often ultimately end up at the Supreme Court of Ohio.
This seven-member court bench is elected by Ohio voters, with individual justice candidates running for election in staggered six-year terms. Right now, the court has an anti-abortion majority, many of which who have publicly stated that they oppose abortion access.
Every candidate for the Supreme Court of Ohio should be asked about the importance of respecting and upholding the Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment in the Ohio Constitution.
