Women's Public Policy Network

Ohio

Stay engaged, involved, and up-to-date: 10/02/17 Week in Review

Saturday, October 7th, 2017

In the weekly updates from the Women’s Public Policy Network, we highlight some of the work we have been up to this week, share updates on bills affecting women that are moving at the Statehouse, and provide calls to action on bills pending in the Legislature. Sign up for our email list to receive these updates in your inbox every week!

DEADLINE TO EXTEND CHIP PASSED WITHOUT ACTION. NOW WHAT?

While Congressional Republicans were busy trying (and failing) to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the September 30th deadline to extend funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) passed by without action.

While states will not run out of CHIP funding immediately, reports estimate that all states will run out of funding within the year – some even as early as December of 2017. Congress is moving forward with a bi-partisan proposal to extend funding for 5 years, but must act quickly to ensure that nine million children (including more than 200,000 Ohio kids) continue to receive affordable health care coverage under CHIP.

A few weeks ago, Ohio mom and advocate, Crystal Lett, shared her family’s story on our blog to demonstrate why the program is so critical and what’s at stake if the funding expires. Now, she shares that story in a Letter to the Editor published last weekend in the Columbus Dispatch. Ready her letter here and then take action to urge your members of Congress to act immediately.

“HANDS OFF MY BIRTH CONTROL”
 

On Friday, the Trump administration announced that they would be rolling back the Affordable Care Act birth control coverage mandate. Under the new ruling, employers with “religious or moral objections” will be allowed to remove birth control coverage from employee insurance plans.

Since the ACA’s birth control requirement, more than 55 million women have been able to gain contraceptive coverage without having to pay out-of-pocket costs. A rollback of affordable birth control coverage is a direct attack on women’s healthcare and economic security.

Raise your voice and let us know how you have been positively affected by access to affordable birth control. Share your story on our Ohio Story Bank by clicking here. Or get active on social media to share your story using #HandsOffMyBC.

LOOKING AHEAD: PARTNER EVENTS NEXT WEEK
Thursday, October 12
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio offices
2323 West 5th Ave., Suite 230
Columbus, OH 43204
Planning on voting this November? Want to learn more about Issue 1 and Issue 2? Hear from proponents and opponents of Marsy’s Law and the Drug Price Relief Act and how these issues can be looked at through a gender lens. For more details and to register for the event, click here.
 
Saturday, October 14
11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
The Gillie Senior Center
2100 Morse Road
Columbus, OH 43229
The National Coalition of 100 Black Women Central Ohio Chapter & The City of Columbus Department of Neighborhoods. Join us as we learn how to eliminate stress and resolve conflict in our lives from experts in the following fields:
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Healthcare
  • Criminal Justice
  • Domestic Violence
For more details and to register for this event, click here. 

Visit our Partner Events Calendar for more details on future events hosted by our coalition partners across the state. 
#OHLEG ALERT
We are tracking the progress of any state bills affecting women in the Ohio Legislature for the 132nd General Assembly. Here’s a quick overview of some key highlights from last week and looking ahead to this upcoming week:
  • HB 61 (G. Johnson) – Eliminates the sales tax on any feminine hygiene products so that they are treated the same as other medically necessary products, rather than a ‘luxury item.’ The House Ways & Means Committee will hold a second hearing on the bill for proponent testimony on Tuesday, October 10th. The Committee meets at 9:00 AM in the Statehouse Room 121.
  • HB 214 (LaTourette, Merrin) – The Down Syndrome abortion ban, which bans a doctor from performing an abortion if they have knowledge that a woman is seeking the abortion due to a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. The House Health Committee is excepted to hold a second hearing on the bill on Wednesday, October 11th on the House side in Room 121 at 9:00 AM.
  • HB 240 (Barnes) – Designates the month of April as “Respect Your Date Month” to raise awareness on the issue of partner violence. The bill would also require state colleges and universities to adopt a policy regarding dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and rape on campus, and to declare an emergency. The House Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee held a second hearing on the bill next week on Wednesday, October 11th. The Committee meets at 11:00 AM in Statehouse Room 115.
  • SB 150 (E. Brown) – The “Domestic Violence Survivors Protection Act” prohibits a person convicted of domestic violence or assault of a family member, or a person subject to certain protection orders, from having a firearm. It received a first hearing this week on Tuesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  • SB 171 (Hottinger) – Increases the penalty for violating a protection order under certain circumstances. The bill would then require those that have violated their protection orders to be electronically monitored by probation agencies. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a first hearing for sponsor testimony earlier this week on Tuesday, October 3rd. 
We will keep tracking any new updates and will be sharing timely legislative updates on these and other women-centric legislation on Twitter using the #OHLeg hashtag. Follow us to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at the Statehouse.
RAISE YOUR VOICE TO STOP THE BANS

There are two Down Syndrome abortion ban bills advancing in the state legislature, which would ban doctors from performing an abortion if they have knowledge that the woman is seeking the abortion due to a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.

During a time when Ohio women and families are facing a complex prenatal diagnosis, lawmakers should not stand in the way of a health care decision that should, instead, be a decision informed by comprehensive medical information and made in consultation with a woman’s family and doctor.

One of these bills, HB214, is scheduled for a second hearing with opponent testimony in the House Health Committee on Wednesday, October 11th at 9:00 AM. The Committee will meet in Room 121 (near the House side of the Statehouse).

TAKE ACTION: We must show up against this harmful abortion ban. Attend the committee hearing on Wednesday to show your opposition to this bill. More information available from our partners at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio is available here.