Friday Five
Barry Sheets, Legislative Consultant
September 13, 2019
After Friday the 13
th
comes the Harvest Moon.
Sounds much like Pro-Life Faithfulness: kneeling before a just God and standing in front of the abattoirs and before the policymakers leads to babies being saved
!
NEWS AND VIEWS
1
.
A thoughtful reader
contacted me earlier in the week to point out that I had made a significant error: In reporting about the Skylar Richardson case, I wrote it such that it was an established fact she had committed the crime for which she was charged. Well, a jury in Warren County didn't make the same error--it
acquitted Richardson of the death on Thursday, but found her guilty of abuse of a corpse for burying the baby after the baby girl was apparently stillborn. My apologies to our readers and to the Richardson family for reading into the facts instead of observing them-I need to go back and read John 7:24 again myself! Sadly, a baby is still dead, and there is still a great need for Pro-Life Education in our schools.
2. 80
.
This number represents the number of times the Federal Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act has been denied a vote by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
. This week, Representatives Steve Scalise (House Republican Whip), Ann Wagner and Chris Smith held a Republican hearing in an effort to coax the 17 Democrat votes needed to bypass the Speaker and force a vote on the legislation to protect babies who are left to die by medical professionals after surviving attempted abortion. Invited speakers were Dr. Robin Pierucci (Clinical Neonatologist), Dr. Kathi Aultman (retired gynecologist), Jill Stanek (retired R.N), National Campaign Chair of the Susan B. Anthony List and Tessa Longbons, Research Associate with the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Pray for their testimony to be used to spur consciences and lead to action to move this legislation in Congress.
3. Two. This number represents the number of Planned Parenthood facilities in greater Cincinnati that are slated to close their doors by September 20
th due to the upholding of the Trump Administration's action to require Title X recipients to not perform, promote or refer for abortion in order to qualify for grant funding and Planned Parenthood's utter refusal to walk away from the ongoing slaughter of the unborn. Of course, these two facilities don't perform the abortions, they are facilities that perform other tests and services for women. You read that correctly: they are closing two locations providing women health care services in order to keep the blood and money flowing. Please, tell me again how Planned Parenthood is concerned about women's health...
4. The Ohio General Assembly is gearing up again after the summer recess
. This week, a sponsor hearing was given to HB 184 in the House Health Committee. This is Rep. Michelle Lepore-Hagan's Bill to require so-called "Comprehensive" Sex Education (read condoms and Planned Parenthood) in schools, and requiring hospitals to provide "emergency contraception" and require pharmacies to dispense birth control. It is not likely that the committee will move forward on this measure. Next week (Wednesday), there will be sponsor testimony in the Senate Health Committee on Senate Bill 155 to add to the informed consent provisions prior to an abortion which would notify women that there is a possibility to reverse a mifepristone (RU-486) abortion procedure before it is completed.
5. Tone-deaf, thy name is Facebook. In what has to be one of the biggest in-your-face maneuvers in recent memory, the tech giant social media platform decided to double down. The company and their CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, have faced criticism from members of the United States Senate for censoring the free speech of Pro-Life group Live Action on their platform by utilizing abortion providers as "reviewers" as to the "truth" of the group's messaging. Four Republican Senators, Kevin Cramer, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and Mike Braun sent a pointed
letter to Zuckerberg about the biased "review" system. Zuckerberg's response? Just hours after receiving the letter, Facebook sent a notice out to Live Action's Facebook Community declaring their information "false" once again. Be careful, Mr. Zuckerberg, Planned Parenthood once thought it was an invincible force too...
PROFILES
Each installment of the Friday Five will bring thumbnail profiles of key policymakers. One statewide office holder or agency director, one Senator, and three House members will be profiled each time.
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Judith L. French-French, a Sebring native and a graduate of the Ohio State University College of Law, has been in public service for 25 years. Beginning in 1993 with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency as Deputy Director for Legal Affairs, she then worked as an Assistant Attorney General for Attorney General Betty Montgomery, and later as chief counsel, from 1997-2002, where she successfully argued the Ohio School Voucher Case at the U.S. Supreme Court. From
2002 to 2004, Justice French served as Chief Legal Counsel to Governor Bob Taft. In that role, she served as the Chair of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Task Force, making recommendations to the legislature for making Ohio's sex-offender Laws more effective. In 2004, Justice French was elected Judge on the Tenth District Court of Appeals. In 2012, Governor John Kasich appointed her to fill a vacancy on the Ohio Supreme Court. French has been a strong advocate for following the intent of the laws as written. She will be running for re-election to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2020.
Senator Sean O' Brien (D) -the Minority Whip for the Senate Democrat Caucus serves the citizens of the 32
nd
Senate District (Trumbull, Ashtabula and part of Geauga Counties) and resides in Bazetta. A former Assistant Prosecutor in Trumbull County, he serves as the ranking member on both the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources and the General Government & Agency Review Committees. He is also a member of the Senate Finance Committee (served on the budget conference committee), Energy & Public Utilities, Judiciary, and Rules & Reference Committees, as well as on the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee. Senator O'Brien, a regular vote against pro-life legislation, will be up for re-election in 2020.
Representative Casey Weinstein (D)-the first term member from Summit County's 37
th
District resides in Hudson where he is the Managing Client Director for Gartner, Inc. and was formerly a City Councilman before being elected to the Legislature. He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and earned an MBA from the Ohio State University. If his name sounds familiar, it is because he is the son of Michael "Mikey" Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, seeking to "wall off" Christian expression in the armed services. He serves on the Armed Services & Veterans Affairs Committee as ranking member and also on the Agriculture & Rural Development and Energy & Natural Resources Committees. Rep. Weinstein has voted pro-abortion during his term to this point.
Representative Thomas West (D)-West, serving the 49
th
District (parts of Stark County), resides in Canton with his family. A former City Councilman, he is serving a second term in the Assembly. West is a Marketing and Development Consultant and a Social Worker. He serves as ranking member on the House Finance Health and Human Services Subcommittee, and on the Aging & Long-Term Care, Criminal Justice, and Health Committees, and serves on the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee. West has been a regular vote against pro-life legislation and amendments during his tenure in the House.
Representative Scott Wiggam (R)-the first-term member from Ohio's 1
st
House District resides in Wooster and serves Wayne County. Wiggam, a restaurant owner and entrepreneur, is a veteran of the United States Air Force and also served as lead legislative associate to the U.S. House of Representatives for the Christian Coalition of America. He is a former three-term Wayne County Commissioner and holds a Master's Degree in Political Science from the University of Akron. He is the Chairman of the House State & Local Government Committee and also serves on the Energy & Natural Resources, Public Utilities and Sunset Review Committees. Wiggam has been a steady Pro-Life vote and co-sponsor of Pro-Life bills during his tenure.
Personal Note (Updated)
Thank you to everyone who has expressed prayers and thoughts for the diagnosis I have faced. The meeting with the specialist this week confirmed the surgery to remove the tumor (and kidney) will be in December, unless the most recent labs come back problematic. If that is the case, it may be done sooner. God is good, and it is a blessing to be on this journey knowing He is in control, and will use this to His glory.
