For Immediate Release
Margie Christie, President
937-461-3625
November 14, 2019
LAWMAKERS STAND FOR THE DEFENSELESS
Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio supports House Bill 413
to end abortion in Ohio
COLUMBUS
—
A group of 21 lawmakers have introduced legislation in the Ohio General Assembly, House Bill 413, which would end the practice of abortion in Ohio. House Bill 413, introduced by lead Sponsors Rep. Ron Hood of Ashville and Rep. Candice Keller of Middletown, is a sweeping change to Ohio law that would remove all authorizations for abortions to take place in Ohio.
“This has been the goal of the grassroots of the Pro-Life movement since the disastrous Roe decision of 1973” stated Margie Christie, President, Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio (RTLACO) and Executive Director of Dayton Right to Life. “We are proud to stand with the co-sponsors in working to reach the goal of protecting the life and health of every mother and child in Ohio.”
Co-sponsors of House Bill 413 are Representatives Niraj Antani, Tom Brinkman, John Becker, Bill Dean, Jena Powell, Mark Romanchuk, Paul Zeltwanger, Darrell Kick, Todd Smith, Tracy Richardson, Nino Vitale, Jon Cross, Craig Riedel, Susan Manchester, Tim Ginter, Derek Merrin, Phil Plummer, Kris Jordan and Riordan McClain.
House Bill 413 seeks to do the following in Ohio statute
:
Legally recognizes an unborn human as a person.
Effects the change that any provider performing an abortion by any method, including but not limited to medical, surgical or chemical methods will be subject to already existing murder statutes.
Provisions protect doctors who perform life-saving procedures and treatments on pregnant women, although the treatment may unintentionally result in the termination of the pregnancy.
A whistle-blower provision in the bill provides affirmative defense to those (including the woman upon whom the illegal abortion may be committed) who help law enforcement officers investigate abortions. This whistle-blower defense does not apply to medical practitioners who promote, provide or procure an abortion.
Representative Candice Keller observed “The time for regulating evil and compromise is over. The time has come to abolish abortion in its entirety and recognize that each individual has the inviolable and inalienable Right to Life. Only respect for life can be the foundation of a free society that supports peace, justice and integrity.”
“This is the beginning of a journey to the future of protecting all defenseless life, especially that of the unborn, in our laws” stated Molly Smith, President of Cleveland Right to Life and President-Elect of RTLACO. “Our supporters believe, as do the majority of Ohioans, that life is precious and deserves the full protection of statute.”
“The most important aspect of this visionary legislation is the recognition that unborn children are human beings from conception and should be afforded the equal protection of our laws” noted Meg Wittman, Executive Director of Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati and Chair of RTLACO's Legislative Committee. “We stand shoulder to shoulder with these strong Pro-Life legislators and will work to bring this bill into law.”
Rep. Ron Hood put forth the underlying impetus behind House Bill 413: “Since the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision on
Roe v. Wade
, countless innocent children have died at the hands of the abortion industry. Up until this point, legislators have only regulated abortion. They have decided which classes of people have a Right to Life by creating exceptions to abortion, which is tantamount to creating exceptions to pre-meditated murder. In our society, killing defenseless human beings is always classified as murder.”
House Bill 413 is expected to be assigned to a House committee to begin hearings in the next few weeks.
