Despite Ohioans’ Opposition, Ohio House Committee Passes Six-Week Abortion Ban

PLANNED PARENTHOOD ADVOCATES OF OHIO
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 9, 2019
CONTACT: [email protected]

Despite Ohioans’ Opposition, Ohio House Committee Passes Six-Week Abortion Ban

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Today, the Ohio House Health Committee voted and passed Senate Bill 23, the six-week abortion ban.

Over the last few weeks, the committee has crammed through sponsor, opponent, proponent testimony and passed the bill out of committee, continuing the accelerated pace to get this legislation to Governor DeWine before the General Assembly adjourns for Spring Break.

Statement from Lauren Blauvelt-Copelin, Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Advocacy, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio:

“It’s clear that this is a part of a larger, coordinated effort to make reproductive health care inaccessible and ban abortion in Ohio. While the six-week abortion ban is on the brink of becoming law, there a number of anti-abortion bills moving alongside the hard-felt impact of changes in federal and state funding that allows Ohio’s most vulnerable populations to access critical preventative health care and education at Planned Parenthood.

“The Committee’s passage of this dangerous bill is another example of Ohio politicians continuing to put their extreme ideological agenda before the people they were elected to represent.”

This comes as the Ohio Legislature is quickly moving a number of other reproductive health care restrictions and bans to abortion, including a bill that imposes burial rituals on a person who has had an abortion (Senate Bill 27) and miseducation bill (House Bill 90) that would implement a costly campaign that would implement anti-abortion propaganda in public facilities.

Senate Bill 23 will have to go before the full Ohio House for a vote before sending the amended legislation back to the Senate for a concurrence vote. Then the bill will be sent to Governor Mike DeWine desk for his signature.

Reproductive rights advocates will travel across the state to fill the Ohio House Gallery to pressure state legislators to stop this harmful ban from becoming law ahead of the anticipated floor vote tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon.

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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio supports advocacy for women’s reproductive health and women’s rights, including grassroots organizing, community education, and lobbying.www.ppao.org.