Ohio Speaker Rejects GOP Effort to Curtail Abortion Amendment

Ohio GOP House Speaker Jason Stephens has dismissed an effort by lawmakers within his own party to remove court authority on the abortion amendment recently passed by Ohio voters.

"This is Schoolhouse Rock type stuff," Stephens said. "We need to make sure that we have the three branches of government and the Constitution is what we abide by."

Stephens' rejection comes after GOP state lawmakers said they would propose a bill to curtail the amendment by granting the state legislature "exclusive authority" to implement the abortion amendment and would have denied courts jurisdiction over the issue.

The Speaker told state lawmakers to instead consider producing legislation that focuses on addressing maternal and early childhood care.

"These are people we care about," Stephens said. "These families are extremely important, and yelling doesn't accomplish that goal. Having conversations is what accomplishes that goal, and we'll let the courts figure out the constitutional issues."

Ohio voters passed an amendment to enshrine the right to abortion in the state's constitution in early November.