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RIGHT TO LIFE ACTION COALITION OF OHIO
Friday Five

Barry Sheets, Legislative Consultant
July 12, 2019

Ohio hosted the professional Baseball All-Star Game this week and we are  hoping for Ohio's legislators to step up and hit a home run  for the Unborn in the later innings!



NEWS AND VIEWS

1. The State Budget deliberations are entering the (possibly) later stages, it is looking like this will go all the way to the second deadline of July 17th. Negotiations are ongoing but an agreement has not been secured. However, this delay has given time to take a somewhat deeper dive on some provisions of the bill and one in particular is raising some questions. A line item in the Medicaid budget added in the Senate to provide $5 million for "practice transformation activities that increase safe spacing initiatives with high volume Medicaid providers serving women in high infant mortality regions" sounds compassionate on the face, but could be a way to funnel tax dollars to Planned Parenthood. We are digging into this and may be sending around an action alert if it is determined that this funding could be directed to abortion-advancing organizations.
 
2. Showing a great deal of confidence in the ultimate outcome of the legal wrangling over the Human Rights and Heartbeat Protection Act (Senate Bill 23),  Speaker of the House Larry Householder made appointments today to the Joint Committee on Adoption Promotion and Support, a special committee created by the provisions of the Heartbeat Bill. The Speaker appointed Republican Representatives Susan Manchester and Brian Baldridge and Democrat Representative Janine Boyd (Minority Leader Emelia Sykes' choice) to the panel. The Senate has yet to name appointees to the group tasked with finding ways to make adoption more attractive and easier for compassionate Ohioans wishing to help children.
 
3. The very liberal Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals may just have become the Unborn's best friend. The Court has just  refused to issue an injunction against the implementation of what the abortion-advocacy organizations call "Trump's Gag Rule" which prohibits Federal Title X (Title 10) funded entities from referring for abortions.  For this court to refuse to halt the rule's enactment while lawsuits filed against it are still pending is a positive signal regarding the future of this pro-life policy.
 
4. The Trump Administration is announcing a new  initiative which may be helpful in the fight to protect life.  The "Commission on Unalienable Rights" is being formed to advise on human rights policies to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. With a directive to focus on "natural law and natural rights" this panel could significantly bolster the Administration's strong position on promoting pro-life policies like the Mexico City Policy.
 
5.  In the category of "Did they really do that?" the National Education Association (NEA) at their annual  convention last week adopted "New Business Item 56" which is a statement that the country's largest teachers' union stands firmly behind "the fundamental right to abortion." Item 56 states in part "The NEA vigorously opposes all attacks on the right to choose and stands on the fundamental right to abortion under Roe v. Wade." We all know that the NEA always seeks smaller classroom numbers but this is a tragic way to achieve that objective.


 
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PROFILES

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
Annette Chambers-Smith leads Ohio's Prison System.  Director Chambers-Smith in her twenty-one year career with the Ohio Department of Correction held numerous positions including Inspector of Institutional Services, Assistant Chief Inspector, Deputy Warden, Warden and Chief of the Bureau of Medical Services. After working for prison vendor JPay for four years as general manager, she was tapped by Governor DeWine to become the director of the Department. She was a National Merit Scholar and attended Wilberforce University graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor Degree in Organizational Management. Director Chambers-Smith was honored with the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's Gold Star Award in 1997, 1998 and 2002. In 2010 she received a mark of distinction from the American Correctional Association when named The Best in the Business. Director Chambers-Smith received former Director Gary Mohr's Impact Award in 2011 and twice in 2014.
 
Senator Nickie Antonio (D)
The first-term Senator from Lakewood in Cuyahoga County's 23rd District served four terms in the Ohio House before advancing to the Senate. Antonio is an Adjunct Professor of Women's Studies and Public Policy at Cleveland State University. She is the ranking minority member on the Senate Health, Human Services and Aging, Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee and Transportation, Commerce and Workforce Committees. She is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, Health and Medicaid Subcommittee and the Ways and Means Committee. Antonio is herself in a same-sex "marriage" and the sponsor of Senate Bill 11, which is the state version of the "Equality" bill to normalize sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. Antonio has been a vocal opponent of pro-life legislation during her entire career.
 
Representative Bill Reineke (R)
Tiffin is where the third-term Representative calls home. Owner of automotive dealerships in north-central Ohio, Reineke is the Vice-Chair of the Aging and Long-Term Care Committee and serves on the Economic and Workforce Development and Ways and Means Committees. Reineke has announced his candidacy for the 26th Senate District race in 2020. He has voted pro-life while in the House but has not co-sponsored House-introduced pro-life legislation.
 
Representative Tracy Richardson (R)
Representative Richardson is in her first legislative term serving the citizens of the 86th House District. She is a Marysville native and served as a Marysville City Council member. Richardson is a veteran of the United States Army, graduating from West Point with an Engineering degree. She serves as a member of the Armed Service and Veterans Affairs, Finance, and Higher Education Committees. Richardson has voted Pro-Life during her first seven months in office.
 
Representative Craig Riedel (R)
The second term legislator from Defiance County's 82nd District (including Van Wert, Paulding and parts of Auglaize Counties) is a civil engineer by training, graduating from The Ohio State University. He is the Vice Chairman of the House Higher Education Committee and serves on the Commerce and Labor and Economic and Workforce Development Committees. Riedel has been a consistent Pro-Life co-sponsor and vote during his two terms in the chamber.


Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati is a proud member organization of the 
Contact: Meg Wittman, Executive Director, Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati, 513/728-7870.

Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati is a grassroots organization, which exists to ensure that pro-life principles of protection and dignity for all innocent human life are upheld and kept before the public; Jack Hart, President. Affiliated with Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio.