| Pro-Choice Legislation: |
| Act for Our Children's Future |
| Bill Number: |
HB 316 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Introduced 10/16/2009; Referred to House Education Committee; Sponsor Testimony on 12/1/2009 and Proponent Testimony occured on: 2/23/2010 |
| Sponsor(s): |
Rep. Stephen Slesnick (D-Canton); Co-Sponsors- Representatives Tom Letson (D-Warren), John Domenick (D-Smithfield), Kenny Yuko (D-Richmond Heights), Matt Patten (D-Strongsville), Marian Harris (D-Columbus), Tyrone Yates (D-Cincinnati), Clayton Luckie (D-Dayton), Mike Foley (D-Cleveland), Kathleen Chandler (D-Kent), Robert Hagan (D-Youngstown), Dan Stewart (D-Columbus), and Ted Celeste (D-Columbus) |
HB 316, the Act for Our Children's Future will require schools that choose to provide sex education to their students to use a medically accurate, age appropriate comprehensive sex education program that starts with abstinence education but then moves beyond that subject to make sure that students know how to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy by effectively using contraception. We expect our teens to behave in a responsible way, but responsible choices require information. Multiple peer reviewed studies have found that comprehensive sexuality education programs that teach teens about abstinence, contraception, and disease control are effective at delaying the onset of intercourse, reducing the frequency of intercourse, reducing the number of sexual partners and increasing condom and contraceptive use. (Douglas Kirby, PhD. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. “Emerging Answers: 2007.” November 2007.) There is no question that abstinence from sexual activity is the only protection that is 100% effective against unintended pregnancy. Therefore, abstinence deserves to be part of a comprehensive sex education effort, but not the only part. The vast majority of Ohioans agree. A 2007 Quinnipiac University poll revealed that 71% of Ohio voters felt that the best approach to sex education in Ohio's schools is to focus equally on abstinence as well as the value of condoms and contraception use. This increased to 81% for voters who have kids in school. Abstinence-only-until-marriage education fails our students and does not provide them with the information they need to make responsible and healthy decisions. This bill will make sure that the students in Ohio's schools get medically accurate, age appropriate and comprehensive sex education so that they have the information they need to stay healthy. |
| Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies |
| Bill Number: |
H.B. 333 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Introduced 10/27/2009; Referred to House Health Committee 10/28/2009; First Hearing 11/4/09, Second Hearing 2/24/2010, Third Hearing 3/3/2010, Fourth Hearing 3/10/2010 |
| Sponsor(s): |
Rep. Dan Stewart (D-Columbus); Co-Sponsors- Representatives Ted Celeste (D-Columbus), Joseph Koziura (D-Lorain), Marian Harris (D-Columbus), Mike Foley (D-Cleveland), Kenny Yuko (D-Richmond Heights), Tom Letson (D-Warren), Nancy Garland (D-Gahanna), Robert Hagan (D-Youngstown), Kathleen Chandler (D-Kent), Stephen Slesnick (D-Canton), W. Carlton Weddington (D-Columbus), Barbara Boyd (D-Cleveland) |
HB 333, the Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act will ensure that all rape survivors get access to emergency contraception (aka the morning after pill or Plan B) in hospital emergency rooms in Ohio, to prevent a pregnancy from occurring following the sexual assault. It will also require the hospital to give the survivor information about the possible transmission of sexually transmitted infections and be given any preventative treatment for those infections. In a 2007 study, the NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Foundation found that almost 20% of hospitals in Ohio did not guarantee access to emergency contraception for rape survivors. This is totally unacceptable. We need to make sure that survivors get comprehensive medical treatment following their assault no matter where they live or what hospital they go to. We believe all women deserve CARE. To learn more about the bill watch Representative Dan Stewart's statement when he reintroduced the bill, or the statement of Sondra Miller from the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center at the press conference on 10/28/2009, or check out our emergency contraception section to learn all about this issue. |
| Contraceptive Equity |
| Bill Number: |
H.B. 332 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Introduced 10/27/2009 |
| Sponsor(s): |
Rep. Dan Stewart (D-Columbus); Co-Sponsors- Representatives Mike Skindell (D-Cleveland), Stephen Slesnick (D-Canton), Mike Foley (D-Cleveland), Kenny Yuko (D-Richmond Heights), Tom Letson (D-Warren), Robert Hagan (D-Youngstown), Marian Harris (D-Columbus), and Nancy Garland (D-Gahanna) |
H.B. 332, Contraceptive Equity, will ensure that health insurance plans that cover prescription drugs also cover prescription contraceptives at the same level that they cover other prescription drugs. It also requires such a policy to include coverage for the visits associated with fitting or inserting a contraceptive device. With the majority of prescription plans covering drugs like Viagra isn't it only fair that they also cover the full range of FDA approved prescription contraceptives? |
| The Ohio Prevention First Act- House |
| Bill Number: |
HB 293 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Introduced 9/30/2009; referred to House Health Committee; Sponsor Testimony 10/28/2009 |
| Sponsor(s): |
Representative Tyrone Yates, Co-Sponsors: Representatives Yuko, Boyd, S. Williams, DeBose, Skindell, Foley, Patten, Harris, Garland, Celeste, Stewart, Heard, Weddington, Dyer, Sykes, Slesnick, Koziura, Hagan, Letson, Chandler, Pryor, Domenick |
This bill (introduced for the third time) will increase access to family planning services and medically accurate, age appropriate comprehensive sex education in Ohio. A companion bill has been introduced in the Ohio Senate (SB 176) by Senator Teresa Fedor. The provisions of the bill include: - Forbidding a health insurance company from limiting or excluding coverage for FDA-approved prescription contraception if the policy covers other prescription drugs or devices.
- Requiring sex education classes to provide students with medically accurate information about abstinence, contraception and condom use as ways to prevent unintended pregnancy and STD's including HIV/AIDS.
- Creating a teen pregnancy prevention state task force that would recommend medically accurate and scientifically proven effective programs for reducing Ohio's teen pregnancy rate.
- Requiring a pharmacy to dispense any prescribed drug, devise, or over-the-counter medication in stock without delay, consistent with the normal time frame.
- Ensuring that sexual assault victims have access to emergency contraception and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases in all hospital emergency rooms.
- Requiring the Department of Health to create and make available on their website, materials to educate medical professionals and the general public about emergency contraception.
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| The Ohio Prevention First Act- Senate |
| Bill Number: |
SB 176 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Introduced 9/29/2009; Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Aging Committee |
| Sponsor(s): |
Senator Teresa Fedor. Co-Sponsors: Senators D. Miller, Kearney, Turner, Morano, Cafaro, Strahorn, R. Miller, Wilson, Schiavoni, Sawyer, and Smith. |
This bill (introduced for the third time) will increase access to family planning services and medically accurate, age appropriate comprehensive sex education in Ohio. A companion bill has been introduced in the Ohio Senate (HB 293) by Representative Tyrone Yates. The provisions of the bill include: - Forbidding a health insurance company from limiting or excluding coverage for FDA-approved prescription contraception if the policy covers other prescription drugs or devices.
- Requiring sex education classes to provide students with medically accurate information about abstinence, contraception and condom use as ways to prevent unintended pregnancy and STD's including HIV/AIDS.
- Creating a teen pregnancy prevention state task force that would recommend medically accurate and scientifically proven effective programs for reducing Ohio's teen pregnancy rate.
- Requiring a pharmacy to dispense any prescribed drug, devise, or over-the-counter medication in stock without delay, consistent with the normal time frame.
- Ensuring that sexual assault victims have access to emergency contraception and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases in all hospital emergency rooms.
- Requiring the Department of Health to create and make available on their website, materials to educate medical professionals and the general public about emergency contraception.
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| Anti-Choice Legislation: |
| Judicial Consent for Minors seeking abortion services |
| Bill Number: |
S.B. 242 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Introduced- 3/17/2010, Referred to Senate Judiciary- Civil Justice Committee- 3/24/2010; First Hearing 5/19/2010 |
| Sponsor(s): |
Senators Tim Grendell & Karen Gillmor - Co-Sponsors: Senators Buehrer, Schaffer, Husted, Seitz, Widener &Faber |
This bill would revise the procedure that minors must go through if they cannot get the consent of one of their parents before they get an abortion. This process is known as Judicial Bypass, and is already an onerous process for young women needing an abortion. This bill would make this an even more difficult process to navigate by requiring the following: the Judge must "specifically inquire about the minor's understanding of the possible physical and emotional complications of abortion and how the minor would respond if the minor experienced those complications after the abortion (this reinforces the unscientific notion that anti-choice organizations are trying to push that abortion causes mental disorders, which has not been proven by medical research); the Judge must "specifically inquire about the extent to which anyone has instructed the minor on how to answer questions and on what testimony to give at the hearing (potentially breaking lawyer-client confidentiality rules); it also requires the Judge to use a higher level of evidence to base his/her ruling on, rather than giving them the right to make a judgment based on his/her understanding of the case and facts on hand.
Minors who are able to go to their parents and tell them about their pregnancy and discuss their options do in-fact do that, more than 60% of minors in states where parental consent or notification is not required still involve their parent in the decision. The minors who cannot tell their parents have good reasons why they can't, and the Judicial Bypass process is set up to protect those minors from harm. We cannot allow anti-choice legislators to continue these political stunts that put women's lives at risk, no one should try to score political points by gambling with other people's health and lives.
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| Manditory Permission Slip Bill |
| Bill Number: |
HB 252 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
referred to Health Committee |
| Sponsor(s): |
Representative John Adams. Co-Sponsors: Representatives Jordan, Huffman, Blessing, Morgan, Martin, Maag, Wagner, Hall, Wachtmann, Combs, McClain, Derickson, Goodwin, Winburn, Uecker |
This bill would require a woman to get the permission of the man involved in the pregnancy before she could get an abortion. If she did not know who that was she would be compelled to pay for and participate in a paternity test to determine the identity of the man. If she were raped she would have to prove that she reported the rape, and if she was a victim of incest she would have to go through paternity testing to show that the pregnancy was a result of an act of incest. The bill does have exceptions for a woman's life and physical health, and also in the case where the man is deceased at the time of the abortion. If a woman does not get the signed permission or presents a man that is not responsible for the pregnancy to sign the permission slip she would be guilty of "abortion fraud" which is a misdemeanor of the first degree, and she could serve 6-12 months in jail if found guilty. |
| Oppose the Federal Freedom of Choice Act- House |
| Bill Number: |
HCR 13 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
referred to State Government Committee |
| Sponsor(s): |
Representative Jones (now a State Senator) Co-Sponsors: Representatives J. Adams, Amstutz, Balderson, Blair, Boose, Bubp, Derickson, Gardner, Goodwin, Grossman, Hite, Hottinger, Huffman, Jordan, Lehner, Maag, Mandel, Martin, Mecklenborg, Morgan, Sears, Stautberg, Uecker, Wagner, Wachtmann, Zehringer, and Batchelder |
This is a resolution that would "urge the President of the United States and the Congress of the United States to oppose the Freedom of Choice Act if introduced again during the 111th Congress." This resolution is a ridiculous waste of time, especially because the Freedom of Choice Act has not yet even been introduced in this Congress, and even if it was re-introduced, House Speaker Pelosi has pledged to not bring it up for a vote. Even if she did change her mind there are not enough pro-choice votes in the House to pass the bill. Therefore we have to ask, why are our state legislators wasting their time introducing a resolutionopposing a non-existent bill when our state is in an economic emergency. Aren't there more important things for them to do? |
| Oppose the Federal Freedom of Choice Act- Senate |
| Bill Number: |
SCR 6 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Passed in by the Senate (21-9) on 2/17/2010- after amendment |
| Sponsor(s): |
Grendell, Buehrer. Co-Sponsors: Senators Coughlin, Gibbs, Schaffer, Seitz, Wagoner, Schuring, Faber |
This is a resolution that was initially introduced to "urge the President of the United States and the Congress of the United States to oppose the Freedom of Choice Act if introduced again during the 111th Congress." But when the Freedom of Choice Act was never introduced in the 111th Congress Anti-Choice Senators decided to use it as a political toy and change it to oppose not only the mythical Freedom of Choice Act, but also the mythical federal funding for abortion that they say is included in the current versions of health care reform legislation. It is sad that instead of taking action on the Ohio Prevention First Act, which would actually decrease the number of unintended pregnancies and the need for abortion, they are playing political games and passing resolutions that actually do nothing to improve the lives of women and families across Ohio.
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| Prohibition on insurance coverage for abortion |
| Bill Number: |
S.B. 262 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Introduced 5/17/2010; Referred to Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee 5/18/10 |
| Sponsor(s): |
Senators Cates & Gibbs; Co-sponsors: Senators Faber, Jones, Coughlin, Buehrer, Grendell, Seitz & Schaffer |
In the recently passed federal health care reform bill, states are allowed to completely outlaw abortion coverage from plans that participate in the newly created insurance "exchange." S.B. 262 would do just that, it would make sure that NO plans offered in Ohio through the new insurance exchange could cover abortion, EVEN IF THE WOMAN WAS PAYING FOR IT WITH HER OWN MONEY. The majority of women in Ohio already have coverage for abortion services through their health insurance, and insurance reform was supposed to INCREASE access to services, not decrease them, but unfortunately anti-choice legislators continue to capitalize on this issue and try to make sure that no insurance will cover these vital medical services. It is interesting that all we heard about during the debate on health care reform is how conservative legislators and voters didn't want the federal government making their health care decisions. I guess they don't think that this applies to women seeking abortion services. In this case i guess they think it is OK for the State Government to tell women that the government, not the woman and her doctor, is going to make this health care decision for her. |
| Prohibition on insurance coverage for abortion |
| Bill Number: |
H.B. 511 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Introduced 5/17/2010; Referred to House Health Committee 5/18/2010 |
| Sponsor(s): |
Representatives Bubp & Uecker; Co-Sponsors: Representatives Wachtmann, Goodwin, Adams, J., Amstutz, Balderson, Beck, Blair, Blessing, Boose, Burke, Combs, Daniels, Derickson, Gardner, Grossman, Hite, Hottinger, Huffman, Jordan, Lehner, Maag, Martin, McClain, Mecklenborg, Morgan, Ruhl, Sears, Snitchler, Stautberg, Wagner, & Zehringer |
In the recently passed federal health care reform bill, states are allowed to completely outlaw abortion coverage from plans that participate in the newly created insurance "exchange." H.B. 511 would do just that, it would make sure that NO plans offered in Ohio through the new insurance exchange could cover abortion, EVEN IF THE WOMAN WAS PAYING FOR IT WITH HER OWN MONEY. The majority of women in Ohio already have coverage for abortion services through their health insurance, and insurance reform was supposed to INCREASE access to services, not decrease them, but unfortunately anti-choice legislators continue to capitalize on this issue and try to make sure that no insurance will cover these vital medical services. It is interesting that all we heard about during the debate on health care reform is how conservative legislators and voters didn't want the federal government making their health care decisions. I guess they don't think that this applies to women seeking abortion services. In this case I guess they think it is OK for the State Government to tell women that the government, not the woman and her doctor, is going to make this health care decision for her. |
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