It looks like Ohio GOPers aren’t taking “yes” for an answer.
After Ohioans voted Tuesday to enshrine access to abortion care in their state constitution, more than a third of the Republican caucus in Ohio’s House of Representatives issued a joint statement essentially vowing to keep up their fight to restrict abortion.
The statement says:
Unlike the language of this proposal, we want to be very clear. The vague, intentionally deceptive language of Issue 1 does not clarify the issues of life, parental consent, informed consent, or viability including Partial Birth Abortion, but rather introduces more confusion. This initiative failed to mention a single, specific law. We will do everything in our power to prevent our laws from being removed based upon perception of intent. We were elected to protect the most vulnerable in our state, and we will continue that work.
That sounds like the anti-abortion equivalent of “The South will rise again!”
Ohio’s Republican House speaker and Republican Senate president both echoed the letter’s sentiment, according to Statehouse News Bureau reporter Karen Kasler.
I’m just going to make a couple of points before I stick my dismount. First, it is rich to hear Ohio right-wingers talk about vagueness and deception. They’re the ones who tried (and failed) to pre-empt the referendum with a hastily planned ballot measure in August that they hoped would raise the voter threshold needed to pass constitutional amendments. They’re the ones who used blatant misinformation — including deceptive language on the ballots. And their reference to partial-birth abortion — a nonmedical term describing a procedure already banned in the U.S. — is yet another sign they’re intent on deceiving the public.
And secondly, here we have solid evidence that Republicans were never sincere when they repeatedly claimed that the issue of abortion should be left to the states. Ohio’s Issue 1 embodied that ethos — and Ohio Republicans are now showing the world what they actually believe with their vows to undermine a voter-approved referendum.
My advice?
Sure, you may not be destined for the revanchist anti-abortion result you were looking for, Ohio GOPers. But part of adulthood is recognizing you can’t always get what you want. The tantrum is a bad look. You don’t have to be babies about it.