Divisive Anti-Choice Legislation Goes to Governor for Signature
Senate votes to restrict abortion access for low-income women Columbus, OH — Last night, the Ohio Senate voted 22 to 11 to pass a bill that restricts access to abortion for Ohio’s low-income women and censors certain medical professionals from providing women with all relevant information about their pregnancies [H.B. 239]. The bill will now go to Governor Taft for signature. “Instead of using the final days of the 2006 session to pass legislation that would help women prevent unintended pregnancy, our legislators are pushing through divisive attacks on access to reproductive health care,” said Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio. “Just weeks ago, the voters of Ohio sent a strong message — calling for commonsense, common-ground solutions—not political gamesmanship. Yet today’s vote brings our current legislators one step closer to passing anti-choice legislation that blocks women’s access to abortion care, yet does nothing to help women who choose to carry their pregnancies to term.” Copeland continued, “While pro-choice advocates were successful in striking some of the most egregious and dangerous language in the bill before it passed the House, NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio still opposes this legislation as it codifies the state’s discrimination against abortion services, especially for poor women. We call on Gov. Taft to reject this bill that will leave low-income women without access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare and neglects improving prenatal care or other health care services for children born to low-income women.” NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio has emailed more than 17,000 member activists urging them to contact Gov. Taft asking him to veto this dangerous legislation. House Bill 239, seeks to restrict the use of public funds for abortion care and prohibits certain programs that receive state funds from counseling or referring women for abortion care. Further, this bill’s public funding prohibitions do not contain exceptions to protect women’s health, which means that women with serious pre-existing health conditions (such as congenital heart defects or diabetes), who rely on state funded health care would be unable to access coverage for abortion care. It also does nothing to prevent unintended pregnancy or promote healthy childbearing. The bill has now passed in both the House and the Senate, and Governor Taft’s strongly anti-choice record indicates he is likely to sign the ban into law.
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