A recent Politico piece reminded readers that in just four weeks, Ohioans will vote on the extreme abortion ballot initiative Issue 1, which threatens to enshrine abortion into the state constitution and strip parental rights — and in the meantime, the Pro-Life Generation is working overtime to educate voters. 

Author Alice Miranda Ollstein noted in her article, “Ohio has the only state referendum on abortion this year, meaning national anti-abortion groups like…Students for Life can focus their resources.” And she’s not wrong — both Students for Life Action (SFLAction) and Students for Life of America (SFLA) are dedicated to the ground game in the state, taking grassroots activism to the next level for the sake of the preborn. 

Ollstein followed SFLA for some of this work, including attending an Abortion On The Ballot Tour stop at Ohio State University recently. Ollstein described the experience, writing:

“As they approached dozens of Ohio State students over the course of four hours on Monday, staff and volunteers with the group Students for Life of America told them that voting against the amendment “would keep abortion accessible up to 21 weeks and six days” while approving the amendment would “stop the debate.” 

(Click HERE to read another SFLA blog entitled “More than 100 Black Pastors Make Case Against Abortion & Ohio Issue 1 in Must-Read Letter.”) 

“The Ohio State event was one of about 15 Students for Life had or will host at public, private and community colleges across the state. They are also planning to table at a high school football game to target parents and students who will turn 18 by election day. At Franciscan University earlier this month, the group said they registered more than 150 students to vote, and recruited dozens to canvass against the amendment over their upcoming fall break. On Monday at Ohio State, several students who initially said they supported abortion rights signed the group’s pledge to vote no after listening to the group claim the amendment would allow abortions “through all nine months, for any reason.””

SFLA Ohio Regional Coordinator Jamie Scherdin, who has been featured in the New York Times for her activism on Issue 1, explained to Ollstein why it’s important for the pro-life movement to register young voters ahead of the November election. She stated:

“We’re not here to register Democrats. We’re not here to register Republicans. We’re here to register students who want to have a voice in this issue. This is the largest voting bloc in America, and it gets neglected very often.” 

Let’s make it even clearer why we’re busting our tails to get students informed on Issue 1 and out to vote. According to a 2023 YouGov-Vinea poll released by SFLA’s Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement, nearly 70% of Millennials and Gen Z want limits on abortion or no abortion at all. That means that if we can educate this demographic on the true radicalism of this Ohio ballot initiative, Issue 1 has a much greater chance of failing — and Ohio preborn children and women have a much better chance at life.  

As Ollstein pointed out in her article, many Ohio students are uninformed or even misinformed on this important initiative, but we’re working to change that. To get more information about our efforts in Ohio, click HERE. 

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