Abortion rights backers sue Ohio officials for adding "unborn child" to ballot language and other changes

Washington — Abortion rights supporters in Ohio are suing state officials over ballot language they approved for a proposed constitutional amendment that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. Among other changes, Ohio officials added the term "unborn child," in what is the latest front in the ongoing effort to protect abortion access in the state. 

The lawsuit from Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights and five voters was filed Monday, after the five-member Ohio Ballot Board adopted new language for the ballot measure that will be before voters in the November general election. The challengers argue the language approved by the board in a party-line vote "aims improperly to mislead Ohioans and persuade them to oppose the amendment." 

They are asking an Ohio court to order the ballot board to reconvene and adopt the full text of the constitutional amendment as the ballot language, or adopt ballot language that "properly and lawfully describes the amendment."