On November 6, two candidates for the United States Senate lost based in part on an extreme view that pregnancies from rape were “gifts from God,” not meriting an exception from the types of strict abortion bans they would like to see enacted. On the same day, 56 percent of Ohio voters told exit pollsters that they believed that abortion should be legal in “all or most” cases. Only 39 percent support laws banning abortion. There is clearly a mood among the electorate — nationally and in Ohio — that women should not be forced to carry a pregnancy to term after a rape. Even the minority of Ohioans who oppose legal abortion should support any measure that would prevent an unwanted pregnancy, thus eliminating the need for an abortion. Ohio legislators have an opportunity to make a difference. Four opportunities, actually. [Read more…]