Some Christians in Ohio have appeared to turn on Republicans following a vote relating to abortion access in the state.
On Tuesday, voters in Ohio submitted their ballots for a vote on the Issue 1 proposed amendment, which established an "individual right to one's own reproductive medical treatment including but not limited to abortion" in the state.
A majority of voters had approved the amendment by Tuesday night, with the Associated Press calling the race with 56 percent in favor and 44 percent in opposition. In Ohio, United Methodist Church and Community Development for All People Deaconess Katelin Hansen told Newsweek on Wednesday that she was "thrilled with the results of yesterday's Issue 1 ballot initiative."
An exit poll conducted by The Washington Post found that 24 percent of "White evangelical or born-again Christians" voted in favor of the Issue 1 amendment. The poll notes that this group only represents 30 percent of voters in the state, and 76 percent voted against the measure.
"Here's an ABSOLUTE DISGUSTING Exit Poll Statistic from last night: 24% of so-called "White Born-Again or Evangelical Christians" voted FOR Ohio's pro-abortion constitutional amendment. It's not JUST the left. JUST HORRIBLE," Christian Broadcasting Network commentator David Brody wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Prior to the vote, groups of Christian organizations met in Ohio to speak about the Issue 1 amendment, Cleveland news station WEWS-TV reported.
The religious leaders met at the Woodland Christian Church earlier this month, including Hansen, who said, "It's our faith that brings us out today. I am deeply pro-life, and I am deeply pro-choice...I don't find conflict in those things. We want to protect health outcomes for all of God's people."
Hansen told Newsweek: "It's clear that Ohioans believe that the choice to have an abortion is a deeply personal decision to be made in consultation with one's doctor and spiritual counselor, without the overreach of government intervention.
"Yesterday, Ohio preserved access to reproductive healthcare for all people, regardless of an individual's ability to afford out-of-state travel. In my view, it was a vote to put action behind 'loving thy neighbor' by caring for the poor, the sick, and all those that Jesus called 'the least of these.'"
Maranatha Community Church Pastor David Appelt told WEWS-TV that he is opposed to the amendment saying, "We care about humans because God cares about humans...We want to see them protected and cared for—the ways that He has spoken."
Since the U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade last year, issues relating to abortion have continued to be a major topic of discussion. While speaking with NBC News, Republican strategist Alex Conant spoke about how support for abortion rights may hurt Republicans going forward.
"Democrats have a message on abortion that's more salient than Republicans," Conant said. "And Republicans need to figure out a way to talk about abortion that can win independent voters in the center."
Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor in the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Houston told Newsweek that, "Ohio might serve as a model for swing state Democrats looking to juice up turnout. Abortion on the ballot is a net plus for Democrats."
"Younger voters are the Democrats biggest blind spot right now and the abortion issue is a way to shore up their support," Rottinghaus said.
Abortion — The political divide:
The abortion debate in the U.S. was not always split along today's political lines. Until the mid-1980s, support was roughly evenly split between the two main parties, with Democrats somewhat less supportive than Republicans, according to the General Social Survey.
Abortion — A Republican shift:
Republicans' stance began to change after the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973, which made abortion a constitutional right. Influential conservative activists and church leaders campaigned against it, presenting it as emblematic of what they saw as the negative liberalization of society, along with other issues such as gay rights and divorce.
Abortion — A landmark decision:
In 2022, the largely Republican-appointed Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving decisions on abortion rights to state and federal lawmakers. Now, 80% of Democratic voters believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared to just 38% of Republican voters, according a 2022 survey by the Pew Research Center think tank.
Newsweek reached out to the Ohio Republican Party via email for comment.
Despite the vote in favor of the proposed amendment, Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, a Republican, voiced his support for other methods to be used to combat abortion in the state.
"Life is worth fighting for. As a grandparent of eight, the life of a baby is always worth the fight," Huffman said, according to The Columbus Dispatch. "The national abortion industry funded by wealthy out-of-state special interests spent millions to pass this radical language that goes far past abortion on demand. This isn't the end. It is really just the beginning of a revolving door of ballot campaigns to repeal or replace Issue 1."
Update: 11/8/23, 1:11 p.m. EST: This story has been updated with further comments.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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