And the Band Played on: Ohio abortion opponents differ over staying the course or declaring war on Roe v. Wade
By, Charu Gupta ...Inspired by the South Dakota bill, Ohio State Rep. Tom Brinkman introduced House Bill 228, which went a step further, banning all abortions, without exceptions. Like the South Dakota bill, it’s designed to incite legal action from pro-choicers, in hopes that the case will land on the Supreme Court’s docket in a few years.
But this confrontational approach makes some in the pro-life movement nervous. To them, the outright ban is an affront to the successful and decades-old strategy of chipping away at abortion rights by adding one narrow restriction after another, like parental notification and 24-hour waiting periods. In fact, just as Brinkman introduced H.B. 228 last year, the state’s largest anti-abortion group, Ohio Right to Life, came forward with 52 co-sponsors for its long-planned but separate proposal (Brinkman’s has 18). House Bill 239 calls for ending the use of public funds for abortion procedures unless rape or incest is involved or the woman’s life is in danger — far less than the outright ban Brinkman and supporters seek, but almost certainly more palatable to most voters. So the stage is set for a behind-the-scenes struggle between folks who want the same thing, but differ greatly on the best route to getting there. You can read the rest of this article on the Free Times website by clicking here.
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