In November 2023, more than 57% of Ohio voters made their voices heard. They amended the state constitution to protect access to abortion and other reproductive rights. It was a clear, decisive result — not a narrow margin, not a contested outcome. Ohioans chose this, together.

Now, two lawsuits are trying to erase that decision.

Republican state legislators and a sitting judge are asking Ohio's courts to void the amendment — not because the vote was unfair, but because they claim voters needed to hold a constitutional convention to make this kind of change. The last time Ohio held a constitutional convention was 1912. That same convention is what created the citizen initiative process Ohioans used to pass this very amendment. Dozens of other constitutional changes have been made the same way in the years since.

Attorney Jessie Hill, who defends abortion providers, put it directly: "Ohioans amended the constitution according to the procedures laid out in the Ohio Constitution," she said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Some folks are being sore losers."

If these lawsuits succeed, the damage won't stop at abortion rights. Any constitutional amendment passed by voters could be challenged and overturned by politicians who don't like the result. That's not how democracy is supposed to work — and it's not what Ohioans voted for.

We're calling on the Ohio Supreme Court and the Butler County Common Pleas Court to dismiss these lawsuits and uphold what voters decided. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has already asked the Supreme Court to dismiss one of these cases — the courts should do the same with the other. The amendment was passed lawfully. The will of Ohio's voters must stand.