Ohio Reproductive Freedom

Hello everyone!

Momentum has been building since we all watched the film The Janes at Adath Israel Congregation about six weeks ago.  As you probably know, the Ohio Attorney General certified the language for the ballot initiative to put reproductive rights into the Ohio Constitution, and people all over Ohio have started collecting voter signatures to get the proposed amendment on the ballot in November.  

The opposition continues to try to put up roadblocks everywhere.  Some individuals affiliated with Right to Life have filed a lawsuit seeking to have the amendment language removed from consideration by voters.  Ohio legislators are working on passing a bill to raise the percentage of votes needed to pass an amendment from 50% to 60%.  This bill has already sailed through the Ohio Senate.  Our legislators are also trying to add a special August election just for the purpose of raising the voting percentage required for approval of amendments.  Guess who pays for the cost of a special election?  We do.  Also, a $5 million TV ad campaign filled with false information about the amendment has been launched across Ohio using the incredibly deceptive name of "ProtectWomen Ohio.”   

We have until early July to collect at least 413,488 valid signatures to get the amendment on the ballot, and we need your help. Can you sign up to spend some time at any of these upcoming events?

Sunday, April 30th
Sign up for a shift to collect signatures during the Israel at 75 event.

Tuesday, May 2nd
Sign up for a shift to collect signatures during this election. Please select the canvassing option to collect signatures. That's what we need most! If you're part of a Reform Congregation, please say you're with RAC.

Sunday, May 7th
Save the date to collect signatures at Adath Israel's Chili Cook-Off.

Sunday, May 14th
Save the Date for a Jewish Day of Action on Mother's Day where we'll be out collecting signatures.

Check out all the events across the coalitions:

Before you start collecting, please do a one-hour training session, because improperly collected signatures won’t count towards the total number of signatures needed.  The Jewish community is offering a Zoom training session on May 1 at 8PM.  You can register for that: Registration link here. 

You can find some other training options here: https://www.mobilize.us/protectchoiceohio/event/553189/ and https://secure.everyaction.com/Mo1yFiXUWEuEJyRkzrN81Q2.

As a preview for those who have not done their training yet, I’m attaching the slides from the Jewish community training session done this past Sunday.

If you want your own signature petition books to use with your friends, neighbors and family, you can pick then up at Rockdale Temple, 8501 Ridge Rd., during these hours:

You can also get petition books from ACLU (2645 W. North Bend Rd.), Planned Parenthood (2314 Auburn Ave.) or the Hamilton County Democratic Party (6109 Webbland Pl.)

If you're part of a Jewish congregation, please make sure you're connected to your congregational leadership working on this issue.

It’s now or never in our efforts to preserve reproductive rights in Ohio.  Failure will be catastrophic.  Thank you for joining us on this journey!

Regards,

Sandy Kaltman
For the Advocacy Committee
Adath Israel Congregation
(513) 236-7646

P.S.  Thanks to our Jewish community partners: JCRC, RAC-OH, Bend the Arc, Rockdale Temple, Valley Temple and Wise Temple.  And thanks to Justin Levy for getting this information organized.

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