Morning Roundup: Ohio Bill Would Make Abortion Illegal After “Heartbeat”

Beth Saunders

An Ohio bill would make abortion illegal after about 4 days of pregnancy, more articles questioning anti-choice bills, important Prop 8 ruling expected, two Senators lead oppostion to anti-choice legislation, and a homophobic podiatrist.

An Ohio bill would make abortion illegal after about 4 days of pregnancy, more articles questioning anti-choice bills, important Prop 8 ruling expected, two Senators lead oppostion to anti-choice legislation, and a homophobic podiatrist.

  • An Ohio Republican state senator will introduce a bill tomorrow intending to make abortion illegal after a heartbeat is detected – usually around 18 days post conception. (If you’re doing the math, that’s about 4 days after a woman misses her period.) Created by the president of Faith2Action, the bill is intended to be a model for other states. I’m not sure why they didn’t just write a bill outlawing abortion completely, since the bill has practically the same effect. Well, they wouldn’t get to use cutesy heart-shaped balloons while lobbying.
  • Let’s add the Mercury News to the growing list of news sources running articles questioning the anti-choice bills currently in Congress, as well as the Charleston Gazette, which questions reviving social issues such as abortion during times of economic struggle, as well as the BBC.
  • An important ruling in the Proposition 8 case is likely to come this week. The California Supreme Court will rule whether state law allows sponsors of initiatives the authority to defend a statute in court if the state refuses.
  • Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CA) have spoken up in opposition to the two horrible anti-abortion bills currently in the House of Representatives – Rep. Joe Pitts’s “Protect Life Act” and Rep. Chris Smith’s “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.” In a piece for EMILY’s List, the two Senators wrote:

    “This week, the GOP House is considering H.R. 3, a bill so restrictive it would limit a woman’s access to reproductive care even when her life was in danger,” the two senators write. “We know a woman’s right to make her own health decisions must be protected. But this is about even more than choice, this is about making sure women and families can get the care they need when they need it.”

  • You know how those of us who think pharmacists should fill legal, not-contraindicated prescriptions without judging women have said it’s a slippery slope. Well, a podiatrist – yes, a foot doctor – in the UK is in hot water for refusing to treat, and delaying treatment, to men he thought were gay and to one who was HIV positive. The doctor cites his Christian faith for his actions.

Feb 8

Feb 7