Picture:Women's March Cleveland at one of its marches in Cleveland , led by Black women. Photo by Cleveland Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com Photojournalist David Petkiewicz

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

Staff article

CLEVELAND,Ohio-Women's March Cleveland will hold its finale rally and march before the Nov.7 election in Ohio on the abortion ballot Issue 1 on the steps of Cleveland City Hall on Sat., Nov 4. The rally will begin at noon with speakers, including elected officials and community activists, and will be followed by a 1 pm march. Weather will be 60 degrees, Cleveland's mainstream media has reported.

"This is our last pitch before the election on Nov. 7 on Issue 1 in Ohio relative to abortion access and we need everybody on the steps of Cleveland City Hall rallying with us for this worthwhile endeavor," said longtime Cleveland activist and organizer Kathy Wray Coleman, who leads Women's March Cleveland. "We have been in the streets of Cleveland and in the trenches as grassroots activists for women's rights for years and we look forward to an unequivocal victory on Nov. 7."

Issue 1 is on Ohio's Nov. 7 ballot and, if passed by Ohio voters, it would enshrine the legal right to abortion and other reproductive measures for women in the Ohio Constitution.

Speakers for Saturday's women's march in Cleveland include state Sen. Nickie Antonio, Cleveland councilpersons Stephanie Howse-Jones, Joe Jones and Kevin Conwell, Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Chair David Brock and activists Maosha Maybach Vales, Linda Howard, Alfred Porter Jr.,  Art, Mckoy Yvonne McKoy, Brenda Adrine, Delores Gray, Kim Dolin and Hailey Dolin.

Women's March Cleveland has been in existence since some 15,000 women and their supporters took to the streets of Cleveland in 2017 to march for women's rights, a sister march to marches nationwide in cities throughout the country and the largest single day nationwide protest in American history.

Councilman  Conwell is bringing his band "FootPrints"to perform free of charge. The Windsong reproductive rights singers will also perform.

"This is a community event and we are proud to be a part of it and to give back to the community," said Cowell," a talented drummer and longtime member of city council who represents Ward 9 on the city's east side.

Polling shows that the reproductive rights amendment to enshrine abortion in the Ohio Constitution will likely pass as early voting is currently underway.

Both Mayor Justin Bibb  and Cleveland City Council have endorsed and campaigned for Issue 1, the most watched issue on Ohio's November ballot.

Last year,on June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Dobbs vs Mississippi Health Organization, which was on appeal to the nation's highest court,overturned Roe v Wade and ended access to abortion for women nationwide. The court also gave individual states the authority to legislate abortion and reproductive rights not regulated by federal law, including to restrict or outright outlaw the procedure altogether. It, no doubt, caused a firestorm of protests throughout the country, including in Ohio, a pivotal state for presidential elections that has trended red in recent elections.

More than 14 states have near-total abortion bans during any point in pregnancy in effect, and at least six states have implemented abortions bans with other limits from six to 20 weeks bans. Ohio has a six-week abortion ban dubbed the heartbeat bill that is on hold per a judge's ruling as lawsuits over the controversial state law make their way through the courts. If issue 1 passes it would negate the heartbeat bill and other anti- choice legislation cooked-up by Ohio's Republican- dominated state legislature.

Ohio will become the seventh state in the country to vote on abortion rights behind Kansas, Michigan, Kentucky, Vermont, Montana and California. All those states had either proposals that enshrined the right to an abortion, or that allowed the state to regulate abortion.

• Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interviewCLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.