Ohio might turn into the following state to ask voters to enshrine abortion rights within the state structure as a state board voted Monday to let a proposed poll measure transfer ahead and begin gathering signatures, a part of a broader motion by abortion rights advocates nationwide to make use of poll measures to guard entry in states the place abortion is banned or beneath risk.
A professional-abortion rights activist at a protest in Dayton, Ohio, on Might 19, 2019.
LightRocket by way of Getty Pictures
Key Info
The Ohio Poll Board accredited the proposed poll measure Monday in a unanimous vote, the Cincinnati Enquirer studies, certifying the measure was one subject as a substitute of a number of points and thus in a position to be on the poll in November.
Advertisement
The poll measure asks voters to approve an modification to the Ohio Structure that may shield abortion rights till the purpose when a fetus is viable, stating, “Each particular person has a proper to make and perform one’s personal reproductive choices, together with however not restricted to choices on contraception, fertility therapy, persevering with one’s personal being pregnant, miscarriage care and abortion.”
Organizers will now have to collect sufficient signatures for the poll measure to seem on the poll and have till July 5 to submit no less than 413,000 legitimate signatures—although the advocacy teams spearheading the trouble mentioned Monday they intention to get no less than 700,000 to make sure they’re over the brink.
Ohio has enacted a six-week abortion ban however the regulation is at the moment blocked in courtroom—although the Ohio Supreme Courtroom might put it again into impact—and the state’s GOP-controlled legislature has handed quite a few abortion restrictions in previous years.
Advertisement
Essential Quote
“This grassroots initiative—by and for the individuals of Ohio—will create common sense ensures for Ohioans’ freedom to make choices about their very own reproductive healthcare, together with abortion,” Kellie Copeland of Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, one of many teams behind the poll measure, mentioned in an announcement Monday.
Huge Quantity
66%. That’s the share of Ohio residents who say abortion must be authorized in all or most instances, in response to a PRRI ballot carried out between March and December 2022.
Tangent
Abortion rights supporters are aiming to get the abortion measure on the poll in November as Republican lawmakers try to make it tougher for poll measures within the state to cross. The state legislature is shifting ahead with a constitutional modification—which is also on the poll in November—that may require no less than 60% of voters to approve a poll measure for it to succeed, relatively than a easy majority. Ought to that cross, it might doubtless make it a lot tougher to cross comparable abortion protections in 2024 or later. “This is perhaps one in all our final alternatives to get this executed,” Dr. Laura Beene of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights mentioned at a press briefing earlier in March.
Chief Critic
Anti-abortion opponents of the poll measure consider it goes too far by permitting abortion as much as the purpose of viability—often about 23 or 24 weeks right into a being pregnant—the Enquirer studies, and Ohio Proper to Life President Mike Gonidakis mentioned the proposed modification’s “language is harmful and misleading.”
Advertisement
What To Watch For
Different states might put abortion on the poll. Efforts to get abortion-related poll measures accredited in coming election cycles are beneath manner in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota, in response to NBC Information, although they’re in varied phases of improvement. On the similar time, Republican legislators are additionally working to boost the brink for these measures to cross. Along with Ohio, lawmakers in such states as Florida, Idaho, Missouri, Oklahoma and North Dakota are additionally contemplating payments that may elevate the share of votes wanted for poll measures to succeed, in response to Pew.
Key Background
Abortion poll measures have gained consideration as a device for shielding abortion entry in mild of the Supreme Courtroom overturning Roe v. Wade in June. Since then, voters in six states have thought-about abortion-related measures, with all popping out in favor of abortion rights. Kansas voters struck down a poll measure in August that may have paved the best way for the state to ban abortion, adopted by poll measures in California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana and Vermont in November. The poll measures are in step with public polling suggesting most voters help abortion being no less than principally authorized, even in GOP-led states, making the technique a beautiful technique to harness public opinion and overcome lawmakers’ bans on abortion entry. The PRRI ballot discovered a majority of voters in 43 states and the District of Columbia help abortion being authorized in all or most instances, with South Dakota (42%), Utah (42%), Arkansas (43%), Oklahoma (45%), Idaho (49%), Mississippi (49%) and Tennessee (49%) being the one states the place fewer backed authorized abortion. No state had a majority of voters who believed the process must be fully unlawful in all instances, with help for abortion bans with out exemptions having not more than 14% help in any state.
Additional Studying
Abortion rights advocates get inexperienced mild to gather signatures for 2023 poll measure (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Abortion Rights Supporters Win All 5 State Poll Measures—Together with In Kentucky And Michigan (Forbes)
Abortion rights teams look to construct on their victories with new poll measures (NBC Information)
Advertisement
The battle over abortion entry might return to the poll field in 4 states because the 2024 elections loom (Insider)
Evaluation: Why Ohio abortion rights supporters are fast-tracking a constitutional modification (Ideastream Public Media)
Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes were able to take care of business against the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday. Now, they are set to prepare for the massive rivalry matchup against the Michigan Wolverines to end the regular season.
Ohio State has been unable to beat Michigan for the last three years. In order to get a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game, they’ll need to snap that losing streak.
At this point in the year, the Buckeyes absolutely look like a national championship favorite. However, there is one weakness that is worth monitoring.
David Pollack, a former star college football linebacker and a current analyst, spoke out about the one weakness that he sees with Ohio State.
Advertisement
“I don’t see a lot of gamewreckers,” Pollack said. “But I don’t see a lot of weaknesses, except at the cornerback spot. I’ve got to address the cornerback spot as a weakness. I’ve seen enough to know. There are enough penalties back there, enough flags, enough big plays that it’s not a strength.”
All season long, the Buckeyes’ cornerbacks have underperformed. Denzel Burke has looked nothing like the expected first-round pick talent that he was being hyped up to be. Davison Igbinosun has been heavily penalized and has struggled as well.
Going up against other elite national championship contenders will be a tough task with a struggling secondary.
Outside of the cornerback position, everything else seems to look solid. If they can fix the issues and get better production out of it, they would be a much more complete contender.
Thankfully, the talent is there for them to improve. Both Burke and Igbinosun are talented players who have simply struggled this season. They are more than capable of turning things around.
Advertisement
All of that being said, the stage has been set for Ohio State and Michigan. On paper, the Buckeyes should be able to dominate the game, but rivalry games can get tricky. It will be interesting to see what ends up happening.
With just one week remaining in the regular season, there is only one team across all of college football that remains undefeated at this point: the Oregon Ducks.
So, it stands to reason that the undefeated Ducks should be the favorite to end the 2024 hoisting the College Football Playoff National Championship trophy, right?
Not according to SEC Network host and ESPN personality Paul Finebaum.
“I’m ‘Paul Out’ with block letters. I don’t even think Oregon is the best team in the Big Ten, let alone the favorite to win it all,” Finebaum said during Sunday morning’s ‘Paul-In, Paul-Out’ segment on ESPN’s SportsCenter. “And thanks Ducks fans waking up on the West coast, I’m aware that you beat Ohio State. But Ohio State, to me, looks like the best team in the country.
Advertisement
“I think they’ll have a fun game in a couple of weeks in the Big Ten championship game, and both are going to go to the Playoffs and be in very good shape. But Oregon, to me, looks a tad below Ohio State.”
As Finebaum reminded the college football world, this exact matchup has already been decided on the field once this season, with the Ducks eking out a 32-31 win in Eugene in mid-October. While it’s not official yet, all expectations are Oregon (11-0, 8-0 B10) and Ohio State (10-1, 7-1) will meet again in the Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis.
But in the meantime, Finebaum is sticking by the preseason favorite Buckeyes.
Ryan Day wanted to ‘leave no doubt’ vs. Indiana
Ryan Day wanted to leave no doubt during Ohio State’s 38-15 win over Indiana Saturday in Columbus and it certainly worked out by the time the game came to its conclusion.
After trailing 7-0, Ohio State ripped off 31 straight points to erase any opportunity of the Hoosiers pulling off the biggest win in school history. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers came in No. 2 and 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.
Advertisement
But with Day and Ohio State one step closer to the Big Ten Championship vs. Oregon, they can put this game to rest.
“Game got a flip there with the punt return (for a touchdown by Caleb Downs),” Day told FOX’s Jenny Taft postgame. “I thought, you know, we had a chance to really separate ourselves in the first half. We didn’t do that. I thought we played well in the second half. I thought we played physical all across the board, and our guys had a great look in their eye. And so now it’s onto the rivalry game.”
As far as scoring the final touchdown, despite a 31-15 lead with less than two minutes to go, Day and Ohio State wanted to leave their mark.
“Well, you say, leave no doubt,” Day said. “And you know, these guys want to finish the game the right way. TreVeyon (Henderson) did the right thing going down at the one-yard line. We ate up the clock. We didn’t want to put the defense back out there. You just never know in games like this, it’s a top five matchup. So we wanted to finish it the right way and make sure that everybody knows that this is the Ohio State Buckeyes.”
Ohio State and Notre Dame looked the part of national championship contenders in Week 13.
The Buckeyes – who are No. 2 in this week’s Sporting News Top 25 – came one step closer to a Big Ten championship rematch against No. 1 Oregon. The Buckeyes beat Indiana 38-15, and the Hoosiers dropped to No. 8 as a result.
Now, Ohio State faces Michigan and can break a three-game losing streak in The Game on Nov. 30. To be honest, that’s not the game we want to see.
How about a rematch from last year’s 17-14 thriller against the Irish on Sept. 23, 2023. That was the one where the Buckeyes scored a late touchdown when the Irish had 10 players on the field, and Ohio State coach Ryan Day called out Lou Holtz afterward. How sweet would a rematch in the College Football Playoff be?
Advertisement
Notre Dame moves up to No. 5 after a 49-14 blowout against No. 19 Army at Yankee Stadium. The Irish set up a win-and-in matchup against rival USC, which seemed unthinkable after a 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7.
A playoff matchup between the Buckeyes and Irish would not materialize until the quarterfinals or semifinals at this point, but we would take it whenever and wherever it happened. Ohio State has allowed 10.2 points per game since the Oct. 12 loss to the Ducks. The Irish have allowed 11.6 points per game in their last five games. Of the 10-1 teams in the top-10, Ohio State and Notre Dame are on the best trajectory heading into Rivalry Week.
Here is a closer look at The Sporting News top 25 rankings.
MORE: SEC title game scenarios | Big 12 | Big Ten | ACC
Sporting News Top 25 rankings for Week 14
Here is a closer look at our latest top 25 ranking heading into Week 14:
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25739950/247386_Elon_Musk_Open_AI_CVirginia.jpg "Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI")
