Desperate conservatives are now saying that Ohio abortion referendum will let kids get “sex changes”

Right groups in Ohio are trying to discourage voters from approving a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights by dishonestly claiming that a proposed amendment would also allow teens to receive gender-affirming surgeries without parental consent.

In August, state voters will decide whether or not to support a ballot initiative called Issue 1 which would raise the threshold of votes needed to amend the state constitution from a majority of voters to 60%. If Issue 1 passes, it would make it more difficult for voters to enshrine abortion rights into law by voting for a pro-abortion amendment in the state’s upcoming November election.

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“For me, this change is the culmination of a lifelong dream.”

An ad released on Thursday by the group Protect Women Ohio begins by saying, “The out-of-state groups fighting Issue 1 say it’s just about abortion, but it’s not and they know it,” while displaying the logos of Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

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While showing a bearded man touching the shoulder of one of two young women, the ad says, “These special interest groups encourage minors to get sex changes and want to trash parental rights.” In reality, gender-affirming surgeries are almost never conducted on minors and neither of the aforementioned groups want to change parental consent laws to make it easier for minors to access gender-affirming healthcare.

“On social media they brag,” the ad continues, pointing out a tweet from Planned Parenthood Action, the lobbying arm of the national reproductive healthcare advocacy group. The tweet reads, “Advocating for abortion goes hand-in-hand with advocation for gender-affirming care,” implying that the right to pursue medical care for one’s own body should be protected by law.

The ad also cites tweets from Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity (URGE) which call it “unethical” for states to have parental consent laws that allow courts to require parental consent in order for teenagers to access abortion.

“The ACLU, they’re against informing parents about their kids transitioning at school,” the ad continues, pointing out that the ACLU opposes laws that would require schools to out trans minors to their parents. It then says that the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and URGE are “in Ohio… to encourage sex changes and cut parents out of life-changing decisions.”

“Stand up for your rights as a parent. Stand up against wealthy out-of-state interest groups,” the ad concludes, encouraging voters to support Issue 1.

As Jezebel notes, the actual constitutional amendment that voters will decide on in November doesn’t even mention gender-affirming care for minors. It states: “Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion.”

“Opponents have latched on to the ‘but not limited to’ language to say that this could provide a constitutional right to, among other things, gender-affirming care rights. That’s not a legally persuasive argument,” Jonathan Entin, a professor emeritus at Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve School of Law, told NBC News.

States that have placed abortion rights on the ballot have found that a majority of voters support protecting those rights by law, even in rural red states like Kansas, Kentucky, and Montana. But by scaring voters about children having “sex changes,” they want to ride on the conservative wave of recent legislation banning gender-affirming care for kids nationwide.