COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohioans are getting ready to vote for the second time in three months, which means political advertisers are once again running commercials to get their message out.

A proposed amendment, appearing as Issue 1 on November’s ballot, will protect the right to an abortion under Ohio’s constitution.

As advertisements in support of the measure began airing this week, NBC4 is continuing its ongoing project to hold political advertisers accountable by fact-checking the ads that appear on the airwaves.

“When we face personal medical decisions, we depend on our doctors, our faith, our family. And the last thing we want is the government making those decisions for us,” a narrator says off the top of the 30-second commercial, paid for by Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights. “That’s why voting ‘yes’ on 1 is so important.”

The commercial claims Ohio’s abortion policy is “a ban with no exceptions for rape or incest,” referring to a law passed in 2019 that prohibits abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected, typically about six weeks into a pregnancy.

The law took effect in 2022 after the United States Supreme Court overturned the benchmark Roe v. Wade decision.

The claim that the Ohio law contains no exceptions for rape or incest is true, but the so-called “Heartbeat Law” is not currently being enforced. A Hamilton county judge temporarily blocked it a year ago, roughly 11 weeks after it took effect, while the court weighs whether it violates the constitution. Abortion is currently permitted in Ohio up to 22 weeks into a pregnancy.

The advertiser also makes claims about the amendment it hopes Ohioans will approve: “Issue 1 even protects birth control and emergency care for miscarriages.”

These claims are also true. While the words that appear on the ballot are currently under dispute, the text of the actual amendment specifies the rights to decisions on contraception and miscarriage care would be protected.

Opponents of Issue 1 released a statement calling the claims in the ad “misinformation” and “fear mongering.”

“There is no law in Ohio that stops us from caring … for mom during an emergency such as an ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage,” Dr. Kathleen Lutter, an OB/GYN, is quoted in the statement issued by Protect Women Ohio.

While the currently-suspended abortion restrictions in Ohio provide exceptions for the health and safety of the mother, Dr. Marcela Azevedo, a pulmonologist who helped inform the proposed amendment, said those exceptions are unclear.

“I did have patients that needed some really important procedures that had to do with cancer care. And I did see some of that care become delayed out of fear,” Dr. Azevedo said, reflecting on the 11 weeks the restrictions were in effect. “Since at that point, we really didn’t know what we could and could not do. Because of course, a ban like that does not have a lot of understanding for how healthcare should be practiced.”

Amy Natoce, a spokeswoman for Protect Women Ohio, said the group will also be airing its own messages leading up to the November election.