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Eden Villalovas, Breaking News Reporter


NextImg:Republican Ohio speaker shuts down GOP lawmakers trying to block courts from interpreting state's abortion rights amendment

Republican Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens dismissed efforts from fellow GOP lawmakers attempting to strip the court’s power to protect the voter-passed measure to enshrine abortion access into the state constitution.

State GOP Rep. Jennifer Gross is planning to introduce legislation that would block the Ohio court's ability to throw out existing law, such as the six-week abortion ban in the state, and give the power to the Republican-led legislature.

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“No,” Stephens, a Republican representing Kitts Hill, told reporters on Tuesday when asked if he felt Gross’s proposal should be taken seriously, per the Cincinnati Enquirer. "We believe in the constitution and the three branches of government. Whatever that was.”

“This is Schoolhouse Rock-type stuff. We need to make sure that we have the three branches of the government. The constitution is what we abide by,” Stephens added.

People gather in the parking lot of the Hamilton County Board of Elections as people arrive for early in-person voting in Cincinnati, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.

Ohio voters passed the Issue 1 constitutional amendment last week to protect abortion and other forms of reproductive healthcare. The measure passed with 56.6% of the votes, according to the Associated Press, and election results will not be finalized until Nov. 28.

After the vote, anti-abortion advocates will likely work to put abortion on 2024 or future ballots. But Stephens rejected the move to put Issue 1 back on the ballot right away, telling reporters, “We've had a couple of votes on that already. I think we all know what the result would be.”

In an August special election, Ohio voters rejected a constitutional change that would have made it more difficult to pass future amendments to the state’s constitution. The summer proposal, which was also called Issue 1, was placed on the ballot by Republicans in hopes of undercutting the voter abortion rights initiative that passed last week.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) advocated the "no" vote on Issue 1 and said not every bill would become law despite lawmakers' proposals.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

"There’s 132 members of the General Assembly,” DeWine said, per the Cincinnati Enquirer. “On any one given day, any one member might think something or say something and might even introduce a bill, but that doesn’t mean anything’s going to happen.”

The Washington Examiner reached out to Gross and DeWine for comment.