Abortion backers, foes hopeful
By Julie Carr Smyth
Associated Press COLUMBUS - Those on both sides of Ohio's never-ending debate over abortion see 2007 as a year of hope, as evidenced by a host of competing legislative proposals at the Statehouse. For state Rep. Tom Brinkman, a Cincinnati Republican, the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold a nationwide ban on partial-birth abortion gave his unceasing efforts to stomp out legal abortion a heartening boost. The ruling was widely viewed as opening the door to further revisions to the court's landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. Brinkman reintroduced legislation recently that would prohibit abortions statewide, a purist approach that few other states have favored and that failed to gain traction during the last legislative session. "That (court ruling) certainly has changed the dynamics a little," Brinkman said. "Last year, we were talking about what could lead to a repeal of Roe, and it was, 'Oh, no, the court's never going to reconsider Roe: Never, ever, ever.' People said things won't change, but things have changed." In Ohio, the person sitting in the governor's chair also changed in 2007, a fact that Brinkman's opponents see as a ray of hope for their position. Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland's past support of abortion rights has emboldened advocacy groups that have watched from the sidelines for years as state abortion laws have become increasingly restrictive on the practice. Abortion rights group NARAL-Ohio gives the state an 'F' when it comes to supporting a woman's right to choose on abortion, even as the legislative section of Ohio Right to Life's Web site bemoans the fact that U.S. courts have given states little leeway to further restrict abortions. As a political moderate popular among both Democratic and Republican voters, Strickland was initially viewed by abortion foes as someone with whom they might negotiate. But one of the Strickland administration's earliest moves was to have its name dropped from the state's lawsuit defending proposed restrictions on the use of the abortion drug RU-486, a move Right to Life and others who oppose abortion interpreted as a rebuff to their cause. The governor also vetoed a budget provision providing state money to teach abstinence-only classes in public schools, a move that again angered those who believe keeping kids away from sex is the most effective way to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control versus abstinence is where the debate has most recently headed, with NARAL, Planned Parenthood and others seeing better access to contraceptives as central to their stated goal of reducing unwanted pregnancies, while abortion foes continue to see the soundest prevention strategies in policies that encourage reduced sexual contact. While Brinkman's bill banning abortion has garnered a single co-sponsor, a bipartisan contingent in the House and Democrats in the Senate have lined up behind companion bills introduced this spring to protect access to contraceptive pills and devices. Specifically, the legislation would prohibit health insurers that offer prescription plans from refusing to pay for contraceptives and force pharmacies to provide them when asked. A Springfield woman complained to Strickland and NARAL in January after Wal-Mart workers wouldn't give her morning-after contraceptive pills that don't require a prescription. The hormone pills can help prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration decided last year to allow nonprescription sales to adults of the pills, also known as Plan B, but they are typically stocked behind the pharmacy in order to assure those buying them are over 18. While NARAL has been pushing pharmacies nationwide to stock Plan B and to write policies ensuring that it will be made available to women who want to avoid an abortion by not getting pregnant, a group of Ohio House Republicans is backing a proposal aimed at women who are pregnant and want to avoid an abortion. Their proposal, introduced June 27, would require signs to be posted in all abortion clinics alerting women to their rights. The same bill also increases penalties for hurting someone in your family whom you know is pregnant. The signs would declare, in capital letters: "No one can force you to have an abortion. No one - not a parent, not a husband, not a boyfriend - no one." It would go on to advise women on the steps to take if their scheduled abortion was being coerced.
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