
House Bill 125 “The Heartbeat bill”
At a time when abortion rates in the state are at their lowest, Republicans seek to introduce a new bill to Ohioans. Brought to Ohio legislator’s attention by Faith2Action, a Florida based Anti-abortion group, House Bill 125 by Rep. Lynn R. Wachtmann, R-Napoleon or the, The Heartbeat Bill, in summary would require doctors to perform an ultrasound and, if a heartbeat can be heard, an abortion would be prohibited unless the health or life of the mother is at risk. The key provisions of the bill are, a person who intends to perform the abortion must determine whether there is the presence of a fetal heartbeat, according to standard medical practice, a person may not knowingly perform an abortion if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, a person who violates the prohibition is guilty of performing an abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, a fifth degree felony, a person who intends to perform an abortion on a pregnant women after detecting an heartbeat must provide the women, no later than 24 hours before the planned abortion, with the statistical probability of bringing the fetus to term, and a pregnant women who undergoes an abortion in violation of the prohibitions in the bill would not be subject to criminal or civil penalties. If the bill before state legislators becomes law, it would give Ohio the most restrictive abortion limits in the country.
A heartbeat can be detected in a fetus as early as six weeks; most women at that stage do not even know they are pregnant. Many who oppose the bill deem it to be unconstitutional saying it would create an undue burden on the mother. The bill is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade the case that legalized abortion in the United States during 1973; the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a woman has the right to an abortion until the fetus is viable, usually 24 weeks of pregnancy. However, those who are in favor of the bill argue that a bill of this stature would protect fetuses and eventually save babies lives, the heartbeat would serve as a medical predictor that the unborn baby will reach viability and live birth. .
According to Ohio Department of Health, 28,123 abortions were performed in the state in 2010. 16,283 the majority of abortions occurred at nine weeks or less in pregnancy, 9,562 of the women who received most of the abortions were between the ages of 20-24. The education level of the majority of women were grades 9-12, the leading race was white woman ranking 15,127, 21,876 of those women held a marital status of never married, and 9,709 of the women who received the procedure already had two or more children. With these statistics we must ask ourselves how this ‘Heartbeat Bill’ will help. The women who seek to get an abortion are women who do not feel they are capable of raising a child successfully, these women are young, un-educated, single, and already parents for the most part. How will forcing women of this status into having baby’s effect society in a good way. The goal is to save babies lives, but what the law will do if passed, is make the lives of children that are saved through this bill even harder. Instead of introducing a bill like this, one may argue as Kellie Copeland, executive of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio said in opposition to the bill, “It does nothing to prevent unintended pregnancies,” and “Why don’t we use things we know work, like sex education? Making abortion illegal will force women into bad situations.” Prevention should be our focus, abortion is not healthcare, it is an act of desperation for those who made bad choices and don’t want to deal with the consequences, people in this category normally feel as if they have no other alternative. I say we put an end to our silence when it comes to promoting and teaching our youth the real deal behind the birds and bees, and give our citizens better access to affordable quality healthcare.
Another issue I find with the bill, even though morally I commend those behind the bill and believe their intentions are innocent, pure and for the better of a moral society, the bill acts like a ticking bomb ready to explode on those who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant. The earliest most women find out they are pregnant is at 6 weeks, an unexpected mother would then be required to make a rushed possibly premature decision on such a sensitive life changing issue! The mother may than suffer from depression and/or other health issues if not fully satisfied later, with the quick judgment the bill forced upon her. And what if the mother doesn’t want the baby, but couldn’t scuffle up enough money to get the procedure? In the end, this bill may cause more harm than good, Dr. Patrick Johnston of Zanesville supporter of the “personhood amendment” who refuses to support the bill, went on to say, “The bill regulates the killing of fetuses and allows too many abortions: for rape, incest and health of the mother.”. (Columbus Dispatch, the (OH))
Has the fight for the bill, come at a bad time? While Ohio’s lawmakers attempt to limit farther abortions, in spite of the fact that the number of terminations have fallen for the 10th straight year, dropping to the lowest level since the state begin tracking them 35 years ago, while the popularity of the abortion pill has become a more common method in terminating pregnancies, a report by the Ohio Department of Health detected. This decline proves that Ohioans are already heading towards a low abortion rate amongst its fellow states; this can be due to the morals of the people here changing, a recent law requires doctors to offer women the opportunity to view the ultrasound of their fetus before having an abortion- when women see the baby they are more likely to keep the baby. Or this could be due to new abortion laws put in effect throughout the recent years. To get an abortion in Ohio one must already, wait 24 hours after visiting a doctor to undergo the procedure and in the case of a minor, parents must be notified. Even with these laws already enforced upon women and her constitution rights Ohio is seeking to pass many more laws and restrictions making it harder for women to get an abortion. House Bill 125 is not the only bill concerning abortions looking to get passed in Ohio, its sisters, House Bill 78, is seeking to outlaw abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy if a doctor determines the fetus could live outside the womb. Also House Bill 79, which will prohibit health insurance offered for purchase through an exchange that Ohio will create under the new federal health-care law from covering abortions, and House Bill 153, the state budget bill, includes a provision that would ban Ohio State University Medical Center and other facilities receiving public funding from performing abortions, 153 also includes a measure that would prohibit local public-employee insurance plans from covering abortions.
The government is ill-equipped to make personal decisions for women, and the male dominated legislature is trampling on women’s right, when instead they should focus on fixing the state’s economy, providing jobs and affordable education. Wouldn’t this help the women and children of Ohio more than House Bill 125? It’s Un-American to force ones morals, beliefs and ideologies upon a people. We are all adults, we all know right from wrong, it’s called free-will and no American should be denied it.
**Works Cited**
Candisky, Catherine. “Hearing harkens to heartbeat.”
The Columbus Dispatch March 3, 2011: 20084686.
Candisky, Catherine. “House puts brakes on abortion-law change.”
The Columbus Dispatch March 24, 2011: 20093302.
Candisky, Catherine. “Panel May Vote On Abortion Bill.”
The Columbus Dispatch March 30, 2011: 20094601.
Candisky, Catherine. “General Assembly/Budget-Session Flurry- ‘Heartbeat Bill’ Gets Ok From House.”
The Columbus Dispatch June 29, 2011: 20129732.
Stuckey, Alex. “Heartbeat bill” divides Ohio anti-abortion leaders.”
The Columbus Dispatch September 27, 2011: 20163221.
Candisky, Catherine. “Abortion numbers down for 10th year.”
The Columbus Dispatch October 1, 2011: 20165237.
Paulson, John Health Services Policy Supervisor, Smith L. Donna Researcher. Center for Public Health Statistics and Informatics Office of Performance Improvement. Ohio Department of Health. Induced Abortions In Ohio, 2010. September 2011