Ohio Introduces More Extreme Abortion Ban Than Texas

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Contact: Aileen Day [email protected]

Ohio Introduces More Extreme Abortion Ban Than Texas

Columbus, Ohio — Earlier today, Rep. Jenna Powell introduced House Bill 480, which would ban all abortion in Ohio. This bill is a copycat of Texas Senate Bill 8, which was the most extreme abortion ban in the country, until today. Ohio’s bill goes further and is a total abortion ban. Like Texas, Ohio’s bill would establish, as its sole method of enforcement, a private right of action that allows anyone to sue abortion providers or anyone who helps obtain an abortion.

Statement from Lauren Blauvelt-Copelin Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Advocacy:

“Ohio has once again proved it is one of the most extreme states for abortion access. This bill goes further than Texas Senate Bill 8, the most extreme abortion ban in the country, and would ban all abortions. It allows anyone — including anti-abortion protesters who have no connection to the patient — to act as paid bounty hunters and take doctors, health centers, and anyone who helps another person access abortion to court and get no less than $10,000. Banning abortion would be catastrophic to communities across Ohio. Lawmakers and anti-abortion vigilantes have no business making personal medical decisions for their neighbors.”

House Bill 480 is clearly unconstitutional and is in direct conflict with the nearly 50 years of Supreme Court jurisprudence since Roe v Wade that has continuously and systematically upheld the right to abortion. Ohio is also seeing another unconstitutional bill, the Trigger Ban, move through the Statehouse. Senate Bill 123 would immediately ban all abortions in Ohio if the Supreme Court upholds a state’s authority to prohibit abortion or if an amendment is added to the US constitution that authorizes a state to ban abortion.

Anti-abortion organizations have fought to overturn Roe by packing federal courts with anti-abortion judges, gerrymandering our state, passing unconstitutional legislation, spreading misinformation, imposing arbitrary restrictions, and waging one legal battle after another.

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