Continued attacks on access to abortion and reproductive health care

This original blog post was published on Monday, February 19, but has been updated to reflect changes as of Monday, March 12

At the conclusion of the 2017 legislative session, state lawmakers passed Ohio House Bill 214 (the Down syndrome abortion ban) out of the Ohio House and Senate. Governor Kasich then signed the bill into law before the end of the year, making it the 20th restriction to abortion and reproductive health care since he took office in 2011.

Now, with the 2018 legislative session in full swing, lawmakers are once again moving forward with a number of other bills that would further restrict access to abortion care. In fact, one of these bills will receive a committee hearing this upcoming week.

• SB 28 (Uecker) – Abortion: Imposes a medically unnecessary funeral ritual on patients choosing abortion by requiring burial or cremation of fetal tissue. The House Health Committee held a third hearing on the bill for all testimony on February 28, and voted the bill out of Committee. It now heads to the full House for consideration.
• SB 145 (Huffman, Wilson) – Abortion Method Ban: Bans the safest and most common procedure for abortions in the second trimester. The House Criminal Justice Committee will hold a fourth hearing for all testimony this Tuesday, March 13. The Committee meets at 1:30 PM in Statehouse Room 114.

Abortion is an essential component of comprehensive reproductive health care for women, and the passage of bills like SB28 present barriers to the accessibility and affordability of abortion care. Reproductive health care is directly tied to the economic security of women and their families. Harmful restrictions such as SB145 would undoubtably have an impact on women’s economic security.

That’s why we need you to mobilize in support of reproductive health care and show up against these harmful bills. Here’s how you can push back:

1  Show up and show support for reproductive rights by attending the committee hearing on Ohio Senate Bill 145. The hearing will take place at 1:30 PM on Tuesday, March 13 in Statehouse Room 114.

2  Use the advocacy tools from our partners at NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio to raise your voice in opposition to Senate Bill 28.

3  Sign up for our email updates to get timely alerts and updates on this bill and other women-centric legislation moving at the Ohio Statehouse.