Republicans in the Ohio Senate pushed through legislation that would ban abortions in Ohio after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The legislation, known as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, would make it a crime — a fourth degree felony — for a physician to perform an abortion if the unborn child is more than 20 weeks from fertilization.
Sen. Peggy Lehner, a Republican from Kettering and one of the bill’s primary sponsors, described it as an effort to bring Ohio in line with “most of the civilized world” and asked lawmakers to recall a recent debate over preventing pain felt by inmates as they are executed.
“Is it too much to ask that we show any less concern for an innocent baby as they suffer excruciating pain as their life is taken at the hands of an abortionist?” Lehner asked.
But the bill drew criticism from Sen. Charleta Tavares, a Columbus Democrat, as “one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country.”
Tavares criticized the lack of exceptions in the bill for cases of rape or incest or for cases that involve several fetal anomalies.
And she argued that women are in the best position to make decisions about their own health and pregnancies — not politicians.
“Most importantly, I trust women,” Tavares said. “I trust that we have the capabilities to make the decisions about what is best for us and our families.”
The bill was approved along party lines, supported by all 23 Republicans and opposed by 9 Democrats. Sen. Capri Cafaro, a Democrat from Trumbull County, was not present.
The legislation, which now moves to the House of Representatives, is similar to laws enacted in nearly a dozen other states. Whether it would withstand a court challenge, though, is in question.
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online News
