Women's Public Policy Network

Ohio

Stay engaged, involved, and up-to-date: 10/16/17 Week in Review

Monday, October 23rd, 2017

Stay engaged, involved, and up-to-date: In the weekly reviews from the Women’s Public Policy Network, we look back on last week’s highlights from the WPPN, share updates on bills affecting women that are moving at the Statehouse, showcase weekly news clips, and provide calls to action on bills pending in the Legislature. Sign up for our emails to receive these updates in your inbox every week!

 WHAT’S YOUR HEALTH CARE STORY?
There have been relentless attacks on health care access at the federal and state levels: from repeated (and failed) attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, to legislative action chipping away at access to Ohio’s Medicaid program, to continued attacks on abortion access.
That’s why we need you to share how access to affordable, comprehensive health care has helped you in your life. Share your health care story with us to be shared on our Ohioans Story Bank. Your story makes a difference!
LOOKING AHEAD: PARTNER EVENTS THIS UPCOMING WEEK  

Monday, October 23
6:00 PM
Working America Offices
1350 W. 5th Ave., Columbus, OH 43212
Join us this Make Your Mark Monday for a Gender By Us conversation! Gender By Us, created by The Women’s Fund, is a conversation tool used to spark change, mobilize advocates for gender equality and generate dialogue surrounding the impacts of implicit biases and gender norms. Find out more and RSVP here. 
 
Wednesday, October 25
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
The Ohio Statehouse, Room 121
1 Capitol Square, Columbus, OH 43215
The Ohio House Health Committee will vote on the Down syndrome abortion ban on Wednesday. You can attend the public hearing in Statehouse Room 121. Show your support for reproductive rights! Find out more here.
 

The Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation – Push Yourself | Pull Others 2017

Friday, October 27
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Cintas Center
1624 Herald Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45207
This is a community driven effort to help strengthen Cincinnati’s workforce by attracting diverse talent to our region and preparing those who will be leading Cincinnati in the future. Push Yourself | Pull Others will provide each attendee with an inspirational “toolkit” that will help her push her career while pulling up the next generation of Cincinnati women leaders. Find out more and register 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 94 (Sykes, Perales) – This bill will designate February as “Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.” It was signed by Governor Kasich on Thursday, October 19 and will go into effect in 90 days. 
  • 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 will hold a fourth hearing with possible vote on Wednesday, October 25. The Committee will meet at 9:00 AM in Room 121 of the Ohio Statehouse.
  • 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 will hold a third hearing for opponent testimony on Wednesday, October 25. The Committee will meet at 11:00 AM in Room 115 of the Ohio Statehouse. 
  • HB 327 (Schaffer, Smith, K.) – Creates tougher penalties for anyone charged with importuning or soliciting sex over the internet. The House Criminal Justice Committee will hold a third hearing for all testimony on Tuesday, October 24. The Committee will meet at 2:15 PM in Room 114 of the Ohio Statehouse.
  • HB 365 (Hughes, Boggs) – Known as the Reagan Tokes Act, this bill would require released violent offenders wearing GPS monitors to have set geographic boundaries and would give law enforcement the ability to access the GPS data without a subpoena. It received a first committee hearing for sponsor testimony last week on Tuesday, October 17. You can find all testimony here (look for the testimony and documents from October 17).
  • HB 383 (Carfagna) – Requires that child-care centers provide parental notice of any serious risks to health or safety of children while under their care. It was referred to the House Community & Family Advancement Committee this past Tuesday, October 17.
  • HB 385 (West) – Prohibits a state agency from preventing employees from discussing their own wages or another employee’s wages and prohibits retaliation against an employee who has discussed wages. It also prohibits a state agency from seeking the wage or salary history of a job candidate. Many of these issues the bill addresses are the reason for gender pay discrimination and the gender wage gap. The bill was introduced on October 16. 
  • SB 201 (Bacon, O’Brien) – Known as the “Reagan Tokes Act”, this is a companion bill to HB 365, which would require released violent offenders wearing GPS monitors to have set geographic boundaries and would give law enforcement the ability to access the GPS data without a subpoena. It was referred to the Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee this past week and will receive a first hearing for sponsor testimony on Wednesday, October 25. The Committee will meet at 9:45 AM in the Finance Hearing Room at the Ohio Statehouse.
  • SB 214 (Terhar, Lehner) – This bill would prohibit female genital mutilation (FGM) for girls under 18, even without the defense of “cultural or ritual necessity” or consent from the girl or her parents. Ohio is still one of two dozen states that does not ban FGM. It was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee this past week on Wednesday, October 18. 
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
The Ohio legislature has continued to advance abortion bans, making it more difficult and costly – and sometimes completely impossible – to access reproductive health care.
Next week, the House Health Committee will hold a vote on HB214, one of the two Down syndrome abortion bans currently pending in the legislature. This bill 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.
TAKE ACTION: It’s time for the legislature to stop the bans! You can take action in a few different ways:
  1. Show up: Attend the public committee hearing on HB214. The Committee will meet on Wednesday, October 25 at 9:00 AM in Room 121 of the Ohio Statehouse.
  2. Contact your representative: Find and contact your State Representative here. Urge them to end attacks on abortion access, including the Down syndrome abortion bans
  3. Get active on social media: Use the hashtag #StopTheBans to add your voice to the conversation