An Ohio House committee is scheduled to take a possible vote on a bill that could put Planned Parenthood in the back of the line when it comes to money for family planning services. That’s just one of the bills that lawmakers will likely consider in the coming lame duck session of the Ohio legislature.
In addition to possibly voting on a plan that could cut state money for family planning services through Planned Parenthood, the Ohio Health and Aging committee is also hearing a bill that could end abortions for sex selection. Kellie Copeland with NARAL Ohio says she’s concerned the lame duck session of the legislature is poised to pass controversial legislation that could hurt women’s health. And She wonders why Governor Kasich chose to put the President of Ohio Right to Life on the state medical board recently.
"I think it’s clear he has an agenda. An agenda to limit access to abortion care. An agenda to limit access to contraception. An agenda that could include inappropriate and unwarranted investigations into OB/GYN’s in this state," says Copeland.
For his part, Mike Gonadakis of Ohio Right to Life, says he can’t talk about his appointment to the board right now. Copeland thinks there’s a good chance lawmakers could re-visit the heartbeat abortion bill in some form in recent weeks. She wonders if Ohio’s conservative leaders are trying to position themselves in a place where they can more easily pass that legislation that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus, whose chamber has not yet passed the heartbeat abortion bill, is out of state right now and could not be reached for comment on what, if anything, might happen to that legislation.