The campaigns supporting and opposing Ohio Issue 1, an amendment that would provide a state constitutional right to abortion, received a combined $71.60 million in contributions, as of the most recent campaign finance reports on Oct. 26.
Issue 1 would establish a state constitutional right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions,” including abortion, contraception, and other reproductive matters. Issue 1 would allow the state to restrict abortion after fetal viability, except when “necessary to protect the pregnant patient’s life or health.”
The ballot initiative is the most expensive abortion-related ballot measure election following Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and the most expensive one since at least 2009, when Ballotpedia began tracking ballot measure campaign finance. Before Ohio Issue 1, the most expensive was Michigan Proposal 3, which saw $69.2 million between support and opposition committees.
