COLUMBUS, Ohio (WOWO) — Ohio’s November elections could help determine how broadly the state’s voter-approved abortion rights amendment is enforced, with a contested state Supreme Court race potentially influencing future rulings on reproductive healthcare and transgender rights. Ohio voters a pproved a constitutional amendment in 2023 protecting reproductive freedom, including abortion access up to fetal viability. But legal challenges over restrictions that remain in place could eventually reach the Ohio Supreme Court, where Republicans currently hold a six-to-one majority. The court’s only Democratic justice, Jennifer Brunner, is defending her seat against a Republican challenger in the November 2026 election. If Brunner loses, the court could become entirely Republican, potentially influencing how the amendment is interpreted in future cases. Rachel Rebouché, a law professor whose research focuses on reproductive health, wrote in an Ohio Capital Journal commentary that state Supreme Court elections deserve more attention because state courts increasingly determine the scope of abortion access following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade. That ruling ended the federal constitutional protection for abortion established under Roe and returned much of the legal fight over abortion to the states. Ohio’s amendment guarantees the right to make and carry out reproductive decisions, including decisions involving contraception, fertility treatment, continuing a pregnancy, miscarriage care and abortion. It generally prohibits the state from interfering with those decisions, while allowing restrictions after fetal viability when necessary to protect a pregnant patient’s life or health, as determined by the patient’s treating physician. Lower courts are considering whether certain existing restrictions, including Ohio’s 24-hour waiting period and its prohibition on telehealth prescribing for medication abortion, can stand under the amendment. The state Supreme Court could ultimately decide those disputes. Rebouché argued that a more conservative court might interpret the amendment narrowly, potentially allowing more restrictions to remain in effect. That is her assessment of the possible legal direction, not a ruling the court has issued. The Ohio Supreme Court also could play a major role in future cases involving gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors. Ohio lawmakers passed a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors over Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto. A state appeals court struck down the law in 2025, but the dispute could continue through further appeals and potentially reach the state’s highest court. The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2025 decision in United States v. Skrmetti also changed the legal landscape. The court ruled that Tennessee’s restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors did not constitute sex discrimination under the federal Constitution. That decision made it easier for states with similar laws to defend them against certain constitutional challenges, although it did not require states to enact such restrictions or resolve every legal question involving gender-affirming care. Ohio is one of several states where judicial elections could influence these issues. Montana, North Carolina, Michigan and other states also have Supreme Court races this year. In Montana, the state Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that the state constitution protects abortion rights and that restrictions preventing advanced practice registered nurses from performing abortions violated those protections. This year’s judicial elections could alter the court’s ideological balance. North Carolina’s Supreme Court has a conservative majority, and Democratic Justice Anita Earls is seeking reelection. A loss by Earls could further strengthen Republican-backed control of the court. Michigan presents a different political landscape. Justices backed by Democrats hold a six-to-one majority on the state’s officially nonpartisan Supreme Court. Chief Justice Megan Cavanagh and Justice Noah Hood are both up for reelection. Michigan voters approved a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights in 2022, and the state Supreme Court subsequently dismissed abortion-related challenges. Across the country, the stakes extend beyond abortion. State Supreme Courts increasingly are deciding whether state constitutions protect reproductive healthcare and how far legislatures can go in restricting medical treatment for transgender people. For Ohio, the central question is how the 2023 amendment will be applied to specific restrictions already in place. Voters approved the constitutional protection, but judges will determine how its language operates in court. Rebouché argued that the November election could influence the breadth of those future rulings, making the Ohio Supreme Court race consequential even though judicial candidates receive less attention than many other contests on the ballot. The post Ohio Supreme Court Race Puts Abortion Access and Transgender Rights in Focus appeared first on WOWO News/Talk 92.3 FM and 1190 AM. ...read more read less