Ohio governor passes some of the most restrictive abortion laws in nation, redefines 'pregnancy'
COLUMBUS, Ohio -Ohio Gov. John Kasich has signed a new state budget, keeping controversial abortion provisions.
...
Kasich vetoed 22 line-item measures. But he did not veto a controversial abortion provision that would now force women to undergo an ultrasound before having the procedure. The new rule blocks abortion clinics from transferring patients to public hospitals, if they need more care, after a procedure. Patients now have to find a private hospital.
Opponents of the new abortion restriction said that three clinics in Ohio would likely close now that the measure is implemented.
Another measure in the budget puts Planned Parenthood last on the list for family-planning dollars, as WLWT News 5’s John London reported Friday.
Now that Kasich has signed the Ohio budget with the abortion provisions, the state will have some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.
Opponents of the new restrictions protested at the Ohio Statehouse last week.
Source 1
Doesn't sound scary enough?
Ohio lawmakers are currently trying to pass a state budget, but many of the debates over the legislation have nothing to do with the state’s financial policies whatsoever. Abortion opponents have hijacked the budget negotiations to launch several attacks on women’s health, tacking on provisions that would defund Planned Parenthood, shut down abortion clinics, and redirect state funding to right-wing “crisis pregnancy centers.” And the budget only continues to get worse for Ohio women.
On Tuesday, anti-abortion Republicans in the state added yet another budget provision related to reproductive health. The new amendment would require doctors to look for a fetal heartbeat before performing an abortion, presumably with an unnecessary ultrasound procedure, and then “notify the woman about the presence of the heartbeat.” Abortion doctors would also be required to tell women about the fetus’ likelihood of “surviving to full term.”
As the policy group Innovation Ohio notes, this language is borrowed from the controversial “heartbeat” ban that Ohio Republicans tried to push through last year. That radical legislation would have criminalized abortion after a fetal heartbeat could first be detected - which typically occurs around six weeks, before many women even know they’re pregnant. Despite the fact that Republicans ultimately gave up on that measure at the end of last session, acknowledging it was too controversial to win support even among anti-choice groups, far-right abortion opponents vowed to keep trying.
They’ve found their chance with this budget amendment, which actually seeks to redefine the medical terms of pregnancy under Ohio law. The new provision defines a fetus as “human offspring developing during pregnancy from the moment of conception and includes the embryonic stage of development” and ultimately declares that pregnancy begins at fertilization. The commonly accepted scientific definition of pregnancy, however, is the point at which a fertilized egg becomes implanted in the uterine lining.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, changing those scientific definitions goes against decades of precedent in federal law - and could ultimately impact some forms of contraception, like the morning after pill. Emergency contraception is not actually an abortion because it doesn’t prevent implementation and has no effect on women who are already pregnant. But Ohio’s state law may soon define it that way anyway.
Source 2 (complete article at source)
Absolutely disgusted with this state. I live in Toledo, and because of these transfer agreement requirements, it's now likely that it will be impossible for any clinic to stay open in the city.
...
Kasich vetoed 22 line-item measures. But he did not veto a controversial abortion provision that would now force women to undergo an ultrasound before having the procedure. The new rule blocks abortion clinics from transferring patients to public hospitals, if they need more care, after a procedure. Patients now have to find a private hospital.
Opponents of the new abortion restriction said that three clinics in Ohio would likely close now that the measure is implemented.
Another measure in the budget puts Planned Parenthood last on the list for family-planning dollars, as WLWT News 5’s John London reported Friday.
Now that Kasich has signed the Ohio budget with the abortion provisions, the state will have some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.
Opponents of the new restrictions protested at the Ohio Statehouse last week.
Source 1
Doesn't sound scary enough?
Ohio lawmakers are currently trying to pass a state budget, but many of the debates over the legislation have nothing to do with the state’s financial policies whatsoever. Abortion opponents have hijacked the budget negotiations to launch several attacks on women’s health, tacking on provisions that would defund Planned Parenthood, shut down abortion clinics, and redirect state funding to right-wing “crisis pregnancy centers.” And the budget only continues to get worse for Ohio women.
On Tuesday, anti-abortion Republicans in the state added yet another budget provision related to reproductive health. The new amendment would require doctors to look for a fetal heartbeat before performing an abortion, presumably with an unnecessary ultrasound procedure, and then “notify the woman about the presence of the heartbeat.” Abortion doctors would also be required to tell women about the fetus’ likelihood of “surviving to full term.”
As the policy group Innovation Ohio notes, this language is borrowed from the controversial “heartbeat” ban that Ohio Republicans tried to push through last year. That radical legislation would have criminalized abortion after a fetal heartbeat could first be detected - which typically occurs around six weeks, before many women even know they’re pregnant. Despite the fact that Republicans ultimately gave up on that measure at the end of last session, acknowledging it was too controversial to win support even among anti-choice groups, far-right abortion opponents vowed to keep trying.
They’ve found their chance with this budget amendment, which actually seeks to redefine the medical terms of pregnancy under Ohio law. The new provision defines a fetus as “human offspring developing during pregnancy from the moment of conception and includes the embryonic stage of development” and ultimately declares that pregnancy begins at fertilization. The commonly accepted scientific definition of pregnancy, however, is the point at which a fertilized egg becomes implanted in the uterine lining.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, changing those scientific definitions goes against decades of precedent in federal law - and could ultimately impact some forms of contraception, like the morning after pill. Emergency contraception is not actually an abortion because it doesn’t prevent implementation and has no effect on women who are already pregnant. But Ohio’s state law may soon define it that way anyway.
Source 2 (complete article at source)
Absolutely disgusted with this state. I live in Toledo, and because of these transfer agreement requirements, it's now likely that it will be impossible for any clinic to stay open in the city.