COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the year since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Ohio's abortion landscape has changed dramatically — with a new amendment on the horizon.

Thousands gathered at the Ohio Statehouse on June 24, 2022 through the weekend to protest the Dobbs ruling, while others gathered in celebration.

"This Roe v. Wade decision has again been something that has reversed course on decades of precedent, sending us backward," U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) told News 5.

Congresswoman Brown is working in D.C. to try to enshrine abortion access into law, but said right now, the important fight is on the ground in Ohio.

State Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland) has agreed, but from the other perspective.

"The time has come for Ohio to truly stand up for the rights of the unborn," Schmidt said in bill testimony from 2022.

What is the current law in Ohio?

Abortion is legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy — or from the last menstrual period.

However, this has been a growing political fight for the past decade.

2019

Republican lawmakers passed the six-week abortion ban, which had no rape or incest exceptions.

This was a step in the right direction for many anti-abortion advocates. But some, like Austin Beigel, want it to go further.

"We are looking for the full abolition of abortion legally to protect all human life from conception to natural death," Beigel said.

This law was blocked by a federal judge a few months later.

2022

When Roe fell in 2022, Ohio reinstated the six-week ban. Pro-abortion rights groups sued, and months later, a state judge indefinitely blocked the law from going into place, citing infringement of privacy.

Now, the case is set to be heard by the Ohio Supreme Court, which is GOP-led. This is what got the ACLU's Gary Daniels and abortion rights advocates moving.

"Get reproductive rights on the November ballot so that Ohioans can decide this for themselves without the help of politicians," Daniels said.

2023

Ohioans will likely get to choose this November if abortion should be legally protected in the state constitution. Supporters should be finishing up gathering signatures this week.

RELATED: Advocates on each side get ready for possible vote to legalize abortion in Ohio

The direct language of the abortion rights amendment, and the portion that the ads focus on, states: “every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage care and abortion.”

Nearly 60% of Ohioans would support this language, according to a Scripps News/YouGov poll.

Republicans in the state had a trick up their sleeve, though. They snuck in an August election, despite banning them a few months prior, to take place on Issue 1.

Issue 1 would raise the threshold for a constitutional amendment to pass from a simple majority, or 50% plus one, to 60%.

"That 10% difference might be how we protect these babies," Beigel said.

Issue 1 doesn't just apply to abortion, which is why hundreds of bipartisan and nonpartisan groups are against it.

"Issue One is an attempt to silence the voice of voters in Ohio," Rep. Brown said. "We must do everything to stop it."

The GOP has admitted it was timed to make the abortion amendment harder to pass in November.

To read more about Issue 1 and abortion, click or tap here.

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A state representative pre-filed two bills Monday that would decriminalize the personal use of marijuana in Kentucky.

Rep. Nima Kulkarni (D-Louisville) pre-filed a bill amending the state's constitution, permitting Kentuckians 21 and older to possess, use, buy or sell up to one ounce of cannabis without criminal penalty. Kentuckians would also be allowed to have up to five plants for personal use.

The constitutional amendment would need to be approved by three-fifths of the House and Senate during the upcoming 2022 legislative session, before going in front of voters next November.

Kulkarni's second bill would have the legislature eliminate criminal penalties for possessing, cultivating and/or selling small amounts of cannabis. The bill would also remove cannabis accessories from the state's drug-paraphernalia statutes.

"I have always said if you go the path of full legalization, you need to address the disparate impact that the war on drugs has had on Black and brown communities before you start talking about money, where it's going to go," Kulkarni said.

Kulkarni said while she knows the political winds may not be in her favor this upcoming session, she wants to start a conversation on the ways in which the legalization of marijuana could make Kentucky a more equitable and successful state. She cited an ACLU study from 2020 showing Black Kentuckians were nearly 10 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white Kentuckians, despite having similar marijuana use rates.

"Clearly marijuana and the war on drugs have fallen disproportionately on people of color here in Kentucky," said Kungu Njuguna, a policy strategist with the ACLU-KY.

The study says Kenton County is one of the worst counties in the state when it comes to racial discrepancies in marijuana arrests. According to the ACLU, Black Kentuckians are at least 14.36 times more likely to face arrest over marijuana possession in Kenton County.

Law enforcement officials in the Tri-State said marijuana is a low priority, but some said legalizing it could lead to other issues like impaired driving. Still, the ACLU said the bill would address issues the state has ignored for a long time.

"Any legislation that works to end the war on drugs and ends disparities in effects of the criminal justice system in people of color are things we need to continue to do in Kentucky," Njuguna said.

The ACLU is one of several organizations that have thrown support behind the bills pre-filed Monday.

In a press release, the state director for Americans for Prosperity-Kentucky said, "We applaud Rep. Kulkarni for introducing bills that would move Kentucky away from the harmful policies that have criminalized the use and possession of marijuana."

In addition to addressing racial inequities, Kulkarni said legalizing marijuana would provide mental and physical relief to "thousands of citizens," from cancer patients to veterans suffering from PTSD. She also said it would generate reliable revenue for the commonwealth without raising taxes.