Buckeye Reporter

Ohio State Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery) shared a YouTube video this week in which he was approached by a man from Michigan who was collecting signatures on behalf of Planned Parenthood for a proposed Ohio constitutional amendment that one organization said would "make the state into a haven for no-limits abortion."

"DECLINE TO SIGN Marco from Michigan’s Baby Killing Referendum," said Click in a May 7 Twitter post that included a link to the video. "What’s with this?"

In the video, the man—who says his name is Marco—approaches Click and asks if he is registered to vote in Ohio and whether he would like to sign a petition to "protect women's reproductive rights." The representative then asks several questions about the amendment.

"So it says ‘to carry out one’s reproductive decisions,’ so that means there’s no age limit on that, right?” Click said.

Marco confirmed that there is not an age limit.

"So that means a child can go have an abortion without her parents knowing?” Click asked.

"Yeah, so it’s for everybody’ reproductive rights,” Marco responded.

"So you think a child should be able to go get an abortion without her parents' permission?" Click asked.

"I believe in everyone having the right to choose," Marco said.

Click asked Marco if he lived nearby, and Marco said, "No, I'm from Michigan." Marco added that he has campaigned for similar issues in Michigan. 

"We go through a petitioning company and then we’re sponsored in through different sponsors, which would be Planned Parenthood, and then yeah,” Marco said, adding that he makes "a little less" than $25 per hour for his work.

The non-profit group Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-Life America said the proposed amendment for which Marco was collecting signatures would "make the state into a haven for no-limits abortion."

"A proposed Ohio constitutional amendment would go much farther than repealing the state’s heartbeat law – it would make the state into a haven for no-limits abortion," tweeted SBA on May 4. "No limits. No parental notification. No health protections." 

Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights are supporting the proposed amendment, which they call, "The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety." It was approved by the Ohio Ballot Board in March, National Review reported. 

The groups are now in the process of working to collect enough signatures for the amendment to make it to the ballot this November. While the groups are emphasizing their desire to repeal Ohio's heartbeat law, which effectively bans abortions after six weeks into pregnancy, with exceptions for preventing death or severe injury to mothers, National Review reported the amendment calls for more sweeping reform.

The proposed amendment could lead to the prohibition of any restrictions on abortion, as well as other procedures related to reproduction, which could include sex-change surgeries, for adults as well as minors, reported National Review. For abortions for minors, the amendment could remove parental consent and parental notification requirements, as well as late-term restrictions, and eliminate health protections such as requiring the procedures to be performed by qualified physicians.

According to the text of the proposed amendment, “every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to” categories such as contraception, fertility, pregnancy, abortion and other reproductive decisions, National Review reported. The broad language of the amendment has led some to believe that it could extend to sex-change procedures, under the umbrella of "reproductive decisions." The amendment would not give parents the right to intervene in children's decisions to undergo any procedure.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) has asked the state legislature to clarify existing abortion laws to help voters see the difference between current laws and the proposed amendment, reported Cleveland.com. DeWine said the state's existing laws are intended to protect human life, but courts tend to strike them down for being too vague or broad.

DeWine previously has said that he and his wife are pro-life, and he believes many Ohioans want the state to support families and children.

"Those of you who are pro-choice believe this is a matter of freedom and is a decision only the woman can make. Those who are pro-life, including my wife Fran and me, believe the life of a human being is at stake and that we have an obligation to protect that innocent life," DeWine wrote in a tweet after last summer's Supreme Court decision overturning Roe vs. Wade. 

"I believe that all Ohioans want this state to be the most pro-family, pro-child state in the country, and we are making great progress in creating an environment here in Ohio where families and children can thrive and live up to their full potential," he said.