COLUMBUS – Saying they are “done sitting on the sidelines,” female Democratic legislators and groups supporting abortion rights proposed a half-dozen bills on Wednesday and vowed to fight Republican efforts to further limit abortion access.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
“We will not allow Ohioans to hear only one message from its legislature,” said Rep. Greta Johnson (D-Akron), flanked by fellow lawmakers and about 25 supporters with signs backing Planned Parenthood and health-care choice.
“We will push back against GOP-led unconstitutional restrictions and introduce legislation that reflects the majority of Ohioans. What they want is access without apology.”
Republican-sponsored bills pending in the Ohio legislature include those to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, cut off more than $1 million in public funding from Planned Parenthood, and block an abortion if a woman seeks it because tests were positive for Down syndrome.
Gov. John Kasich has specifically indicated support for the Down syndrome bill.
“I am a woman, a veteran, and a moderate, and I cannot stand by while women’s access to healthcare continues to be attacked. I trust myself when I make decisions about myself and my body,” said Rep. Heather Bishoff (D-Columbus).
The lawmakers say their bills “address medical accuracy, safety, cost, and barriers associated with women’s access to healthcare services” by removing restrictions on public funding for abortion clinics, eliminating a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion and a restriction requiring clinics to have transfer agreements with public hospitals. Another bill prohibits clinics that receive federal welfare funds from providing information that is not “medically accurate. “
“It’s legislators telling people what they should do, when it’s constitutionally protected for people to make a decision based on what is best for their families,” said Rep. Stephanie Howse, D-Cleveland. “We need to tell legislators to stay out of family matters, personal decisions, and get back to the real work of … helping Ohioans get back to work, properly educating our children and properly supporting families.”
The bills’ supporters say, since 2013, new restrictions passed by the General Assembly have reduced the number of abortion clinics in Ohio from 14 to nine.