Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine may disagree when it comes to their stance on abortion, but where they do relate is in their efforts to ensure Ohio voters hear their position on the topic loud and clear.
News 5 anchor DaLaun Dilliard sat down with DeWine in the governor's mansion, and Bibb visited us in our News 5 studios.
DeWine has shared publicly that Issue 1 is “not right for Ohio.”
"Pro-choice, pro-life, wherever you are on the issue of abortion, this goes much much too far and frankly does not fit Ohio," DeWine said.
Conversely, Bibb is urging the passage of the state's abortion amendment.
"It's between them, their families, their doctor and their god, not the government, and I fully believe that this is something that the majority of Ohioans want to see," Bibb said.
Shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Bibb rolled out six new policies for the city.
They include a pledge by the city prosecutor to not prosecute abortion-related crimes and, as a result, deprioritizing city resources for investigating abortion-related crimes.
"I feel as mayor I was elected to fight for our residents, and it's so important that I use my pulpit as the mayor's office to fight for women and reproductive healthcare and access to abortions in our state," Bibb shared with Dilliard.
DeWine recently put out a television ad with First Lady Fran DeWine calling for Ohioans to vote no on Issue 1.
"I'm confident that we can come up with a law in Ohio that the majority of Ohioans will feel comfortable with in regard to abortion. What that is, I don't exactly know."
In 2019, DeWine signed a six-week abortion ban into law. A ban that Bibb felt did not consider all of the variables.
"I think they should think about their daughter or another woman in their family who may have gotten pregnant in a way that they did not want to get pregnant. Maybe they were raped."
The law was blocked by a federal judge a few months later.
When Roe v. Wade fell in 2022, Ohio reinstated the ban, and months later, a state judge indefinitely blocked the law from going into place, citing infringement of privacy.
While the governor isn't on board with Issue 1, he also says lawmakers should consider changes to that current abortion law, saying many Ohioans don't like that it doesn't offer exemptions for rape or incest.
Ohioans will not only vote on issue 1 at the polls, Issue 2 regarding legalizing recreational marijuana is also on the ballot.
