TheGridNet
The Cleveland Grid Cleveland

Women show their support during drive-through signature event for abortion-rights amendment

The event was postponed after issues with the cover sheets of the petition books were discovered Saturday morning. Marla Zwinggi, a woman who was hailed as a “Vaccine Queen” during the pandemic, organized a drive-through signature event for an abortion-rights constitutional amendment proposal that supporters want on the ballot in the fall. The event was organized by Red, Wine and Blue, a group that mobilizes suburban, left-leaning women and is pushing a proposal that would guarantee that patients could make decisions up to 22 to 24 weeks into a pregnancy. On Monday, the Ohio Ballot Board cleared the campaign to begin collecting signatures. Supporters need to collect about 413,000 valid signatures from registered voters by July 5 to get the issue on the statewide ballot in November. ZwingGI is fighting to make sure people know about a chance to change Ohio’s history.

Women show their support during drive-through signature event for abortion-rights amendment

发表 : 12 个月前 经过 kremington, Kaylee Remington | [email protected]Politics Health

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio – They drove Saturday to Heritage Park, filtering in one car after another, to seek change in Ohio’s abortion law.

Marla Zwinggi, who was hailed as a “Vaccine Queen” during the pandemic, organized a drive-through signature event for an abortion-rights constitutional amendment proposal that supporters want on the ballot in the fall.

“I’m just a mom; I live in Geauga County, which is typically a red county, but a lot of people out here are hungry for change,” Zwinggi said. “Women sometimes aren’t always in tune with politics. We’re raising our families. We have to go to PTO meetings. We’ve got to do this. We’ve got to do that. We (Red, Wine and Blue) provide a safe space for women to understand what’s happening in that arena.”

Backers need to collect about 413,000 valid signatures from registered voters by July 5 to get the issue on the statewide ballot in November.

The event was organized by Red, Wine and Blue, a group that mobilizes suburban, left-leaning women. It is pushing a proposal that would guarantee that patients could make decisions up to 22 to 24 weeks into a pregnancy. On Monday, the Ohio Ballot Board cleared the campaign to begin collecting signatures.

After a stumble, Zwinggi and others went to work Saturday.

The event was scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Organizers pushed it back after learning about a formatting error on the cover sheets of the petition packets, said Katie Paris, a Shaker Heights resident and the founder of Red, Wine and Blue. Those who didn’t get a chance to sign the petition can do so from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Heritage Park, Zwinggi said.

She noted about 80 vehicles were in line for the event at its original start time. Some returned later in the day.

Cindi Bindus, 59, of Auburn Township said she vaguely remembers when Roe v. Wade went into effect, but it was, in a sense, a part of her life up until last year when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned it.

“I had free choice and what I could do with my body. Abortion is a personal choice, and every woman should have that right to make that choice for themselves,” she said. “I think the Republicans have been hyper-focused on that and Democrats have not. I want to see this (amendment) on the ballot. If a state like Kansas can pass it, then a state like Ohio should be able to pass it.”

Susan Mullet, 67, of Newbury Township said she feels like the country is going backward.

“It has gone so far the other way that it’s really harming people, and it really scares me,” she said. “I hope it gets on the ballot in November, we pass it and stop talking about it.”

Zwinggi has three daughters between the ages of 7 to 11. She said many people failed to realize the impact of the overturning of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade.

The woman who pushed to get elderly residents in Northeast Ohio vaccines during the pandemic is fighting to make sure people know about a chance to change Ohio’s history.

“We took a moment there to kind of mourn and now, ‘What are we going to do?’ ‘What are we going to do about it?’ " she said. “We’re not waiting around.”


话题: Social Issues, Abortion

Read at original source