Lauren Blauvelt

The legislative branch is not doing what’s needed to protect abortion rights in the U.S., so mobilizing a crowd is an essential strategy to stop the resulting injustice. It takes enormous commitment and energy to make a citizen ballot initiative like Issue 1 in Ohio, which enshrined the right to an abortion in the state constitution, a success. 

As the co-chair of Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, Lauren Blauvelt represents all the people who worked day and night to get out the vote, and all the voters who came out in support of Issue 1 in November 2023—the first time voters in a Republican-controlled state weighed in directly on the right to an abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Ohio provided a blueprint for other states to follow.

Within the patchwork of different state laws, clinics in Ohio remain a lifesaving refuge for women from surrounding states that have banned abortions, especially for those who cannot use telemedical services like Aid Access because they are more than 13 weeks pregnant.

Lauren, thank you for putting in all your hard work and commitment and for making this ballot initiative a success.

Gomperts is founder and director of Women on Waves, Women on Web, and Aid Access