Ohio Republicans Want to Keep Abortion Vote From Judiciary

Opponents of the amendment approved by voters this week to add abortion rights to Ohio's constitution have lost but not given up. Four Republican legislators want to end the judiciary's ability to interpret the measure's meaning, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. The idea is to head off abortion rights advocates at their next step, which will be to turn to the courts to repeal existing restrictions in the state. "We will withdraw jurisdiction from the courts so that they cannot misapply Issue 1 for the benefit of the abortion industry," state Rep. Jennifer Gross said in a news release.

The GOP group's statement said the state legislature alone will decide whether any laws will be changed as a result of the measure's approval. The executive director of the Ohio Judicial Conference disagreed with that prediction. "The Supreme Court of Ohio is the final arbiter of constitutional issues. Period," said Paul Pfeifer, a former justice and Republican lawmaker, adding that legislation "that attempts to circumvent the constitution eventually isn't going to go anywhere." Slate points out that Republicans won all three races for open seats on the Ohio Supreme Court last year, giving them four of the seven seats. (More Ohio stories.)