Ohio
Ohio’s referendum, supposedly about abortion, would broadly obliterate parental rights
Once on the frontlines of defending freedom in communities across America, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has undergone a radical transformation in recent years. This has culminated in its latest efforts to gut parental rights using every tool at its disposal.
From challenging parental consent and notification laws in Alaska and Indiana and fighting curriculum transparency laws that give parents insight into what their children learn in the classroom, to encouraging teachers to conceal decisions from parents that children might make about their gender identity while at school, the ACLU is now on a clear anti-parent mission. And with a bevy of left-wing ideological allies supporting this anti-parent crusade, it has only become bolder in its tactics.
This week, the ACLU and its pro-abortion rights allies succeeded in landing a supposed abortion rights initiative on the Ohio ballot. This measure, if it were to pass, would strip parents like me of the fundamental freedom to guide our children through irreversible and life-altering medical decisions, including not only abortion but also cross-sex hormone therapy and sex change surgeries.
Together with groups like United for Reproductive Freedom, the ACLU has taken the red herring of abortion rights and turned it into a much broader attack on parental rights under the banner of “reproductive freedom.”
The proposed Ohio amendment, drafted by the ACLU, includes language forbidding any state law that “directly or indirectly” would “burden” or “interfere” with any “reproductive decisions.” Although this is being advertised as abortion-related, the amendment goes far beyond that. It does not mention “women,” nor does it include any age-related restrictions or a clear definition of “reproductive decisions.” This opens the door for children of all ages to make life-changing decisions, absent parental involvement, that permanently disfigure or destroy their reproductive systems or organs.
As The Washington Post recently described the amendment, its language “could be extrapolated to protect access to all sorts of medical interventions, including sex-change surgery or sterilization, and not just for adults. Age is never mentioned in the amendment, meaning that children could have unfettered access to surgical procedures, including abortion, without parental interference.”
I am increasingly alarmed by this brazen attack on parental rights. As a new mother and an Ohio resident, I fear the ACLU’s efforts to cloak its anti-parent agenda in a web of abortion rights messaging is deceiving families across my state.
We should never allow special interest groups to strip away our rights and enable minor children to make dangerous and life-changing medical decisions without parental input. When I moved from India to the U.S. at age five, I was blessed to live with 10 family members — my own parents included — who worked together to protect and raise me. I thrived because of my deeply connected family members and their involvement in my decisions, big and small.
No special interest group can care for children the way parents do. Neither I nor other parents in Ohio need the ACLU or other well-funded groups to take away our right and privilege to care for our children.
Equally alarming to me as an attorney is that the ACLU knew exactly what it was doing when it helped draft this radical anti-parent amendment in Ohio. ACLU lawyers specifically added language for reproductive decisions “including but not limited to” — language that deliberately opens the door for transgender surgeries and late-term abortions without parental consent. These activist attorneys willfully ignore the right to parental consent that we have as parents under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.
As the Supreme Court recognized in the 2000 case Troxel v. Granville, “the interest of parents in the care, custody and control of their children — is perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this Court. It is cardinal with us that the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents.”
The ACLU’s attacks on parents and our right to decide what is best for our children should generate an opposition that transcends politics. In Ohio, where the ACLU is pursuing its latest anti-parent victory, every resident who believes that the family is the institution best equipped to nurture and protect children — to a far greater extent than government or schools — should stand up in November and fight to protect parents.
For these reasons and so many others, we simply cannot afford to let government and ideologically motivated groups replace the authority of current and future parents. If we falter in this fight, what comes next?
Mehek Cooke is a mother, attorney, 2020 State House candidate and business owner from Ohio. She has previously served as legal counsel for presidential campaigns, the Ohio Governor’s Office and the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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How much do you need to earn to be considered middle class in Ohio?
Defining the middle class is more complicated than it may seem, especially since the United States Census Bureau does not have an official definition for the term.
The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households with incomes between 67% and 200% of the median income – meaning those who earn between two-thirds and twice as much as the median household in Ohio.
According to the most recent data from 2022, middle-income households in the U.S. earned between approximately $56,600 and $169,800, Pew Research Center reported. Households earning less than $56,600 were considered lower-income, while those earning more than $169,800 were classified as upper-income.
Calculator: Are you in your Ohio city’s middle class?
In Ohio, the median income is lower than the nationwide average.
A study from the personal finance site SmartAsset earlier this year found that the middle income range for the state falls between $43,809 and $131,440, with the median household income at $65,720.
Check to see where you fall in your city.
How much do Ohio’s highest-earning households make?
To be in the top 10% of earners in Ohio, you need to make $227,669, according to Yahoo Finance. In 2024, the pre-tax salary required to be in the top 1% of earners in Ohio is $494,700, per SmartAsset.
Ohio State‘s convincing 42-17 win over Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff set the stage for a blockbuster rematch between the Buckeyes and the undefeated, top-seeded Oregon Ducks.
The Buckeyes have known this rematch was looming in the quarterfinals since the CFP bracket was set, but weren’t able to look past the Vols until the final whistle.
Get your team’s official College Football Playoff watch from AXIA by CLICKING HERE: “Watches that tell so much more than time”
Now set to face a fresh Oregon squad coming off a Big Ten Championship win over Penn State and a first-round bye, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day explained why this Ducks squad isn’t the same one they lost to earlier this year — and either are they.
“It’s not like we played them just a couple weeks ago,” Day said. “This was midseason, and there’s been a lot of football played since then. Like I said, I feel we’ve evolved. They’ve evolved. Different teams. So there are certainly things that you want to look at that happened in that game but also, as time’s moved on, how they’ve changed, how we’ve changed and how does that fit as we put together the game plan.
“But ultimately, we want to make sure that we’re putting together a great game plan so our guys can play fast, they understand what we’re trying to get done in terms of attacking in all three phases, and they can play with emotion and physicality.”
During the regular season, the clock literally ran out on Ohio State and left Eugene with a heartbreaking 32-31 loss. The Ducks are still undefeated heading into Saturday after edging past the Buckeyes in October.
“We’ve made adjustments coming off that game, and we worked hard to make sure that we’re putting our guys in the best position to be successful,” he continued. “We’ll do that again against these guys this week and go compete our tails off.”
The rematch between the Buckeyes and Ducks is set for 5 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day and will air live on ESPN.
Going into the 2024 college football season, there were a lot of questions about Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard.
Heck, there were concerns about him following Ohio State’s dreadful loss to the Michigan Wolverines in the season finale, and the jury is really still out on the Kansas State transfer.
However, there is no denying that Howard stepped up in the Buckeyes’ first-round College Football Playoff game against the Tennessee Volunteers, as he went 24-for-29 with 311 yards, a couple of touchdowns and an interception.
As a result of his impressive performance, Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports ranked him the second-best quarterback remaining in the College Football Playoff, placing only Oregon Ducks signal-caller Dillon Gabriel above him.
“It was easy to say Ohio State should’ve thrown the ball more in the loss to Michigan — I know because I said it, too — but there are two sides to the story,” Fornelli wrote. “You can’t just call more pass plays; you need your quarterback to execute. Howard did that in a frigid Ohio Stadium on Saturday night. He dropped some absolute dimes en route to 311 yards passing while completing 24 of his 29 attempts. This week, he’ll get a chance at redemption following his late-game gaffe in Eugene earlier this season.”
On the season overall, Howard has thrown for 3,171 yards, 29 touchdowns and nine picks while completing 73.2 percent of his passes. He has also punched in seven rushing scores.
Howard still has head-scratching moments, like when he threw an interception in the red zone during the first half against Tennessee.
But, for the most part, he has been everything Ohio State could have asked for since acquiring him via the transfer portal last year.
We’ll see how he fares against Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
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