Buckeye Reporter

Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity (URGE), a main supporter of Issue 1 and a part of the coalition, Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, has historically supported ending parental involvement or parental rights laws. URGE tweeted their support for ending parental involvement laws in April of last year and has expressed their support for Issue 1 on the ballot this November, which includes parental rights and notifications regarding abortion and gender-affirming care. According to URGE, "It's time to END parental involvement laws. We're ALL worthy of self-determination!"

URGE is a state-driven national organization involved in policy advocacy and supports "Real Abortion Access, Sexuality Education, Democracy Reform, Economic Justice, Decriminalize & Create Safe Communities, and Immigrant Justice." They are part of the Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom coalition with ACLU of Ohio, Abortion Fund of Ohio, New Voices for Reproductive Justice, Ohio Women’s Alliance, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio and Preterm-Cleveland, Pro-Choice Ohio. The coalition's mission is to protect and expand abortion access and they have formed an official partnership to get a measure on the ballot that would amend the Ohio Constitution to explicitly protect reproductive freedom for all.

In 2020, URGE posted another tweet stating, "Your daily reminder that parental involvement laws are unethical and must be abolished." Another tweet from 2019 read, "We need policies that get rid of parental involvement laws so that young people can access abortion without unnecessary restrictions." According to Breitbart, URGE was against a 2020 Florida law that would require minors to have parental consent before abortions. URGE said the law "both polices the body and choices of young people, and endangers their mental, physical, and emotional health."

Breitbart analysis found that URGE receives partial funding from individual donations facilitated through the Democrats' ActBlue donor platform, as well as financial support from organizations like Planned Parenthood, the Packard Foundation, and the New Venture Fund. Within the Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom coalition, the ACLU of Ohio, along with groups such as Planned Parenthood, played a significant role in crafting the language of the Issue 1 amendment proposal.

Jessie Hill, an attorney for the ACLU of Ohio, spoke on the amendment's role in parental consent and notifications, stating that when a constitutional amendment is passed, it doesn't erase everything and start over, but it means that laws that conflict with it cannot be enforced.

Critics of the amendment, like Protect Women Ohio, have argued that the groups promoting the amendment claim they aren't trying to end parental rights, but URGE has been working to abolish parental consent and notification laws for years.

A Hudson, Ohio resident who is opposed to the amendment said, "Any honest reading of Issue 1 reveals its absurdity... Parents, who know and love their children far better than anyone else ever could, are boxed out of caring for their pregnant daughter and unborn grandchild."