Columbus — The Ohio House passed a six-week abortion ban by a vote of 58-35.
NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Executive Director Kellie Copeland said: “Anti-abortion ideologues should not attempt to insert politics between a patient and their physician. What we’re seeing is state legislators, John Kasich, and Mike DeWine playing politics with women’s lives. This abortion ban would block patients from the care they need and deserve. If enacted, this legislation would worsen the reproductive health care crisis in our state. The decision to have an abortion is not a political decision.”
Amendments were offered to require students receive comprehensive sex education, ensure women receive access to no-cost contraception, and to remove felony penalties from the bill. All amendments were rejected by a majority of Republicans.
Copeland continued, “The rejection of these amendments proves the true intent of this bill. This is about punishing women and the doctors who provide them with care. Abortion is health care, not a criminal act.”
Once a woman has made the decision to end a pregnancy, she needs access to safe, legal abortion care in her community. This bill would effectively outlaw abortion and criminalize physicians. Over twenty-thousand people choose to have an abortion in Ohio each year, and seven in ten Americans support legal access to abortion care. Banning women from getting a medical procedure is dangerous, out of touch with Ohio values, and is completely unacceptable.
The unconstitutional six-week abortion ban would block access to safe and legal abortion before most women even know they’re pregnant. There are no exceptions in the bill for rape, incest, or to protect the health of the woman. This bill would criminalize doctors who perform abortion procedures.
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