State Lawmakers Refuse to Support Common-Ground, Commonsense Solutions for Ohioans
NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio delivers more than 2,100 postcards urging the House Health Committee to schedule a hearing on the Ohio Prevention First Act
COLUMBUS, OH—NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio continued its campaign to promote and pass the Ohio Prevention First Act through the state legislature. Today – the day the state legislature was scheduled to come back into session – the organization delivered more than 2,100 postcards signed by Ohioans that urges lawmakers to schedule a hearing on the bill. Along with the postcards, NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio also delivered hundreds of minute timers to symbolize the three year wait for a hearing.
“Many lawmakers may want to stay under the radar screen when the legislature reconvenes after the elections,” Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said. “Backed by the power of our activists, we will continue to raise the public’s awareness of the legislative leaders’ refusal to hold fair hearings on the Ohio Prevention First Act. What are they afraid of? After years of pushing anti-choice attacks, they finally have an opportunity to focus on positive commonsense legislation.” Over the summer, volunteers canvassed the state, collecting postcards addressed to members of the Ohio House Health Committee and the committee’s chairman, Lynn Wachtmann. NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio also collected more than 780 signatures from an online petition urging the health committee to hold hearings on the legislation. The Ohio Prevention First Act (HB 251) is a bipartisan bill that will reduce the number of unintended pregnancies in Ohio by increasing access to birth control and comprehensive sex education. Specifically, the Ohio Prevention First Act provides funding for family-planning programs, guarantees access to birth-control prescriptions at pharmacies, and promotes emergency contraception access and education. A detailed analysis of Ohio women’s access to family-planning services can be found at the NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio website: www.ProChoiceOhio.org.
You can watch a video of the event at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL8195A9tps.
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