OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
S.J.R. 7 Bill Analysis
134th General Assembly
Click here for S.J.R. 7’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsors: Sens. Antonio and Williams
Effective Date:
Amy L. Archer, Research Analyst
SUMMARY
 Proposes to amend the Ohio Constitution to guarantee the right to reproductive
freedom, which entails the right to make and effectuate decisions about all pregnancy
matters, including prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception,
sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care.
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Constitutional right to reproductive freedom
The resolution proposes to amend the Ohio Constitution to guarantee every individual a
fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which entails the right to make and effectuate
decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including, but not limited to, prenatal care,
childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage
management, and infertility care. An individual’s right to reproductive freedom cannot be
denied, burdened, nor infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by
the least restrictive means.1
For purposes of the amendment, a state interest is compelling only if it is for the limited
purpose of protecting the health of an individual seeking care, consistent with accepted clinical
standards of practice and evidence-based medicine, and does not infringe on that individual’s
autonomous decision making.2
Notwithstanding the above, the state is permitted to regulate the provision of abortion
care after fetal viability, provided that in no circumstance can the state prohibit an abortion
1 Article I, Section 22(A).
2 Art. I, sec. 22(D)(1).
May 31, 2022
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
that, in the professional judgment of an attending health care professional, is medically
indicated to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual. “Fetal
viability” is defined in the amendment as the point in pregnancy when, in the professional
judgment of an attending health care professional and based on the particular facts of the case,
there is a significant likelihood of the fetus’s sustained survival outside the uterus without the
application of extraordinary medical measures.3
The amendment prohibits the state from discriminating in the protection or
enforcement of this fundamental right. Further, the state cannot penalize, prosecute, or
otherwise take adverse action against an individual based on the individual’s actual, potential,
perceived, or alleged pregnancy outcomes, including, but not limited to, miscarriage, stillbirth,
or abortion, nor can the state penalize, prosecute, or otherwise take adverse action against
someone for aiding or assisting a pregnant individual in exercising the individual’s right to
reproductive freedom with the individual’s voluntary consent.4
The amendment states that it is self-executing and if any of its provisions are held
invalid, they are severable from the remaining amendment portions.5
Election and effective date
The resolution specifies that the amendment will be submitted to the electors at the
general election to be held on November 8, 2022. If adopted by a majority of electors voting on
it, the amendment takes effect immediately.
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 05-27-22
ANSJR0007IN-134/ks
3 Art. I, sec. 22(A) and (D)(2).
4 Art. I, sec. 22(B) and (C).
5 Art. I, sec. 22(E).
P a g e |2 S.J.R. 7
As Introduced