Sweeping Anti-Choice Bill & Now Ohio (Merged Topics)

[Austin]

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/lo ... -bill.html

From the article:

Majority Republicans in the House and Senate approved sweeping restrictions on abortion rights today, including a far-reaching ban that those on both sides of the debate say would essentially outlaw all abortions.

House Bill 125 the so-called heartbeat bill would prohibit abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be medically detected, generally six to seven weeks into pregnancy and before many women realize they are pregnant.

:angry-jumpinganger:

One voice of reason:

"Look around, women. You are surrounded by men making decisions about your future," said Robert F. Hagan, D-Youngstown. "Barefoot and pregnant, that's where they want you, raising the kids while we are making a living."

Hagan must have gotten the fundie memo.

I fear for us all.

[valsa]

How the hell can that be constitutional?

Does it automatically go into affect or does it have to pass another house/being signed in or something?

[Austin]

Now it goes to the senate, which is also GOP-controlled. And then it will go to our vaunted right-wing-nut governor, Kasich, who is a Neanderthal. No, I take that back. That would insult Neanderthals, from what I've read of them.

[deelaem]

And the war on women amps up once again.

[teddybear]

How far is this trend going to go? And I hope this stuff doesn't end up before the Supremes at this time. I have a feeling the pro-choice side would lose big.

[Austin]

And the war on women amps up once again.

Had it ramped down?

j/k

I'm so tired of this shit. *sigh*

And teddybear, I have absolutely no faith in the supremes these days. I did a lot of reading on Clarence Thomas on my recent vacation, and it was disheartening and demoralizing, to say the least.

Alito, Roberts, and Scalia scare the crap out of me, too.

[demgirl]

How the hell can that be constitutional??

According to the most recent major decision on 1st trimester abortions by the Supreme Court, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, it isn't. My guess is if it goes in front of the Court, it will be struck down, as the division on abortion remains the same numerically as it did when Casey was decided. Casey basically reaffirmed the major holding of Roe v. Wade that in the first trimester, decisions about abortion are properly the purview of the pregnant woman and her doctor. It allowed for major restrictions such as informed consent, etc. but it reaffirmed that major holding and Justice Kennedy, the swing vote moderate, concurred on that point. The breakdown of the justices would likely be:

Uphold: Scalia, Roberts, Alito, Thomas

Strike Down: Ginsberg, Sotomayor, Kagen, Breyer and Kennedy (well, Kennedy at least on the point of not allowing limitations on abortion at that early in the pregnancy.)

You can never be sure though, because you have to count on Kennedy not having changed his mind about reaffirming the decision on first trimester abortions being solely the purview of the woman and her doctor.

[meda]

I know Dkos is a very left site, but this is a good summary of the new abortion bill that just passed the Ohio Assembly.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/06/2 ... siderecent

[meda]

Thanks Austin

[Austin]

:D - I'm actually just glad I finally figured out how to merge topics - lol.

[bbfreethinker]

From the Daily Kos article:

The force behind this bill is a woman named Janet Folger Porter, who has a group called Faith2Action. She is a dominionist theocrat so extreme she got herself thrown off a Christian broadcasting network. She has said her goal is to bring all the institutions of American society — government, education, business, media, etc — under the rule of Old Testament Biblical law in order to prepare for the return of Jesus Christ. This isn't about "unborn child," kids, or as today's House agenda called them, "unborn humans." It is plain and simply about turning women into chattel.

This is why we have to worry about the dominionists.

[Austin]

From the Daily Kos article:

This is why we have to worry about the dominionists.

Trufax. This woman makes Bachmann look nearly sane. :shock:

[luckylibrarian]

Jesus Christ. Kasich scares the hell out of me. Between SB5 (which eliminates collective bargaining) and now this, I think Kasich really has gone off the deep end.

Go Bob Hagan! (Not that I'm surprised - Youngstown and all of northeast Ohio is very blue collar and Democrat.)

[Cassandra]

I kind of think Kasich isn't that interested in being a 2-term governor, or at least he's acting like a second term may not be a possibility. He seems to be trying to change as much as quickly as possible.

Which would be great if I agreed with him :cry:

[Austin]

I kind of think Kasich isn't that interested in being a 2-term governor, or at least he's acting like a second term may not be a possibility. He seems to be trying to change as much as quickly as possible.

Which would be great if I agreed with him :cry:

I agree. I saw recent poll results that indicated that if the election was held now instead of last November, Strickland would beat Kasich by something like 40 points. I don't remember the exact number, but it was surprisingly high.

Too bad that the next election won't be for another three-plus years. Kasich and his cronies can (and will) do an awful lot of damage by then.

[batwing]

Now it goes to the senate, which is also GOP-controlled. And then it will go to our vaunted right-wing-nut governor, Kasich, who is a Neanderthal. No, I take that back. That would insult Neanderthals, from what I've read of them.

WORD. Kasich's street name is Kasuck.

I work right across the street from the Ohio State House. The abortion truck (the one with the shooped photos of abortions that like to drive by every day at lunch time downtown) and the loonies with shooped signs have been out for the last few weeks building up the momentum for this crap. I'm VERY pro-choice, but I have to wonder if some of the Pro-life folks are sitting back wishing the loonies had stayed home with their nasty signs.

[batwing]

I kind of think Kasich isn't that interested in being a 2-term governor, or at least he's acting like a second term may not be a possibility. He seems to be trying to change as much as quickly as possible.

Which would be great if I agreed with him :cry:

There's a theory out there that he's a placeholder, my Republican in-laws actually shared this one with me.

The theory is something like he ran for office so that he could bust all this shit up and then when the next Republican gets voted in they can "fix it all" and then everybody's in a big lovefest with the GOP again. I want to believe it's a farfetched notion, but I'm halfway convinced it's true. He's a businessman first, he's got plenty to fall back on.

[Austin]

WORD. Kasich's street name is Kasuck.

I work right across the street from the Ohio State House. The abortion truck (the one with the shooped photos of abortions that like to drive by every day at lunch time downtown) and the loonies with shooped signs have been out for the last few weeks building up the momentum for this crap. I'm VERY pro-choice, but I have to wonder if some of the Pro-life folks are sitting back wishing the loonies had stayed home with their nasty signs.

We're practically neighbors!

I worked downtown for a couple of years and loved it. I like working five minutes from home better, though :D

Interesting placeholder theory. I had not heard that, but given the machinations and manipulations of constituencies in politics, it wouldn't surprise me. It's disgustingly cynical if that's what they are planning. Politicians setting out to deprive people of their constitutional rights and to "break" government just to further their own agenda is just appalling (unfortunately, not surprising), even if they plan to have the next guy come in and put a few bandaids on. Kasich could take back 50 years or more of progress easily. Especially for women and minorities.

I hope everyone hates the GOP by the time the next governor's election comes around and even if they ran a resurrected Ronald Reagan, no one would vote for him.

[Nothing2CHere]

The theory is something like he ran for office so that he could bust all this shit up and then when the next Republican gets voted in they can "fix it all" and then everybody's in a big lovefest with the GOP again. I want to believe it's a farfetched notion, but I'm halfway convinced it's true. He's a businessman first, he's got plenty to fall back on.

So, one of their own is going to break things, then one of their own is going to sweep in and fix them... but... HOW is another GOP governor going to get voted in? If you screw things up as badly as Kaisch is, why would the voters trust ANOTHER republican to then fix things instead of making things even worse? :? I mean, isn't that one of the reasons Strickland got voted in in the first place, because everyone was so disgruntled with Taft?

(Yes, outing myself as an Ohioan here, I'm from that lovely blue section of the state)

All I know is, I didn't vote for him because he scared me, and he's just proving me right.

[Austin]

So, one of their own is going to break things, then one of their own is going to sweep in and fix them... but... HOW is another GOP governor going to get voted in? If you screw things up as badly as Kaisch is, why would the voters trust ANOTHER republican to then fix things instead of making things even worse? :? I mean, isn't that one of the reasons Strickland got voted in in the first place, because everyone was so disgruntled with Taft?

(Yes, outing myself as an Ohioan here, I'm from that lovely blue section of the state)

All I know is, I didn't vote for him because he scared me, and he's just proving me right.

Ohioan to Ohioan, I see things very similarly and also, when using logic, doubt another GOPer can get elected next time. But who was it who said, "Never underestimate the stupidity of the American people"?

So yeah, still worried. . .

[Gizmola]

I have to apologize to everyone. I had thought you guys were a bit overly dramatic about the concerted effort in the country to start stripping women of their rights and trying to create a theocratic state where we are officially second class citizens. I was wrong. So very, very wrong.

I've spent the last twenty years being very careful yet always thinking that if the worst happens I'll have an abortion.

Now I am seriously worried that if I do get pregnant I will be stuck with a child I don't want.

I'm not very articulate because I'm just completely speechless at this bill and the ramifications of it. And the fact that so many people in this country are on board with it, with the sentiment behind it. Add that to the growing political power of the dominionists and the Tea Party fruitcakes. I'm just shuddering.

I wonder if I can take my dogs with me if I move to Canada or the UK.

[dramallama]

Ugh, Ohio. I'm, unfortunately, from a red part of the state (about 50 miles west of Columbus). I voted for Strickland, but everyone I know outside of my family voted for Kasich. The idiocy of the American voter never ceases to amaze me.

I'm cautiously optimistic that the inevitable lawsuits stemming from this fuckery will be successful and that the Supreme Court will strike it down if it goes that far - assuming Kennedy hasn't changed his mind *crossedfingers*. And to all those people who say "haha, it doesn't matter if you vote for a Republican or a Democrat for President, they're all the same!" - Supreme Court appointments are exactly why it matters. One more Scalia or Thomas and have fun bending over for the next 30-40 years, at least.

[Austin]

I am feeling sick.

After receiving more information about this tragic turn of events in an email, I just realized that the language of the "heartbeat" bill includes NO exceptions for rape or incest or mental health of the mother.

Some comments made by opponents of House Bill 125 (so-called "Heartbeat Bill").

Rep. Connie Pillich: "No exception for rape? For incest? For mental health? This is cruel! Where's the prevention?"

Rep. Clayton Luckie: "I rise today to wonder why this bill is on the floor. We should be here to discuss pregnancy prevention."

Rep. Kathleen Clyde: "This bill is anti-woman, out of touch, overreaching, and unconstitutional."

Rep. Bob Hagan: "Look around, women, and see that you're surrounded by men who are making decisions about your body."

Rep. Nickie Antonio: "The Ohio legislature should not be practicing medicine without a license."

These comments on behalf of women were met with some of the ugliest, misogynistic babble being uttered in this country by our own representatives. Video of the "debate" can be found here: http://www.ohiochannel.org/MediaLibrary ... eId=112297 - if you have the stomach for it.

This bill passed with a vote of 54-44.

House Bill 79, also passed by the Ohio House this week, which bans insurance plans from covering abortions after the new health care reform laws take effect. By banning insurance for abortions, the House is effectively removing the choice for women who have no other way of paying. These insurance dollars are not public funds - they are women's own personal dollars.

This bill passed by a vote of 52-36.

And we're not done yet. House Bill 78 passed, as well, which bans abortion for any reason after a pregnancy is determined to be viable. Representatives Pillich and Antonio attempted to express to the House why removing women's access to abortion in the second and third trimester removes their ability to terminate a pregnancy that is suffering from medical complications. Even though these are some of the most heartbreaking decisions that couples can face - couples that often very much want to have children - the GOP did not care.

This bill passed with a vote of 65-33.

Fellow Ohioans, here is how our legislators voted:

http://www.plannedparenthoodaffiliateso ... votes.html

I have some limited faith that this will be eventually judged unconstitutional. However, as my husband expressed to me last night, what about all of the girls and women who are forced into giving birth while this thing is winding its way through the courts?

[dramallama]

Of course my representative (who represents me in absolutely no way) voted for all 3 bills. Of course.

[Austin]

Yes, mine, too. Cheryl Grossman. She used to be our mayor and sucked then. Now I know for sure she is a disgusting pig. I'm drafting a letter to her this afternoon.