NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio speaks out on UVVA bill passed in the Senate
Click here to hear Kellie Copeland, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio and Senator Mike DeWine square off in a story by Jo Ingles on Ohio Public Radio about recently passed legislation that would grant legal status to fetuses and embryos (the so-called “Unborn Victims of Violence Act”). President Bush is poised to sign this bill into law. There is no disagreement on the horrific nature of violent crimes against a pregnant woman that harm or end her pregnancy, and the need for harsh penalties against those who commit such terrible acts. The NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio is committed to the fundamental right of every woman to act on her choice to have a child and bring new life into this world when she chooses to – and we oppose any attempt to deny them of that right, whether by anti-choice judges or violent criminals. The only difference between this bill and the Feinstein alternative is simple – giving separate legal status to a fetus or embryo. The reason it’s there was explained by anti-choice leader Samuel Casey. “In as many areas as we can, we want to put on the books that the embryo is a person...That sets the stage for a jurist to acknowledge that human beings at any stage of development deserve protection – even protection that would trump a woman’s interest in terminating a pregnancy.” In other words, anti-choice leaders have turned consensus into contention because of a provision that does nothing to punish any criminal or protect any pregnant woman, but is part of a long-term effort to erode Roe v Wade. It’s an effort that is not limited to this bill. Around the country, anti-choice legislators have moved forward with initiatives to grant separate legal status to the fetus or embryo as early as the moment after conception. They are even getting bolder in trying to force direct legal challenges to Roe in a number of states, and in two federal courts. Clearly, with potential Supreme Court vacancies looming, opponents of abortion are doing everything possible to create the conditions in which a court that's had its anti-choice numbers bolstered could achieve the goal of reversing that historic Roe v. Wade decision. The bill before the President is part and parcel of that overarching campaign.
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