Women's March Cleveland urges Ohio's governor to veto heartbeat bill that bans abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected.... " We urge Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to veto the heartbeat bill immediately and to cease his campaign of eroding abortion rights in Ohio and of disregarding Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal nationwide," said Cleveland activist Kathy Wray Coleman, a Black grassroots activist and a key organizer of Women's March Cleveland.....By Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) |
CLEVELANDURBANNEWS.COM-Cleveland, Ohio-The Ohio House, on Wednesday, passed the controversial fetal heartbeat bill, which would make abortion illegal in Ohio once a fetal heartbeat is detected, and in as early as six weeks depending on the method of detection, a bill that passed the Ohio Senate last month and again yesterday with revisions.
SB 23 now heads to Gov. Mike DeWine for his anticipated signature in order to become state law.
The Senate voted 18-13 Wednesday in favor of revisions to the bill made by the House when it approved the measure earlier Wednesday, 56-39, the bill originating in the Senate.
Republicans control both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly and the bill was passed along partisan lines
"We urge Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to veto the heartbeat bill immediately and to cease his campaign of eroding abortion rights in Ohio and of disregarding Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal nationwide," said Cleveland activist Kathy Wray Coleman, a Black grassroots activist and a key organizer of Women's March Cleveland.
Sponsored by state Sen. Kristina Roegner (R-27), a Hudson Republican, Senate Bill 23 is one of Ohio's most restrictive abortion bill's since Roe v Wade became federal law.
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Kellie Copeland, executive director of Naral Pro-Choice Ohio |
DeWine, at the time Ohio's attorney general, campaigned for governor last year with his position against abortion a key part of his campaign platform.
He said then that he would quickly sign the heartbeat bill into law if and when it hits his desk as governor.
The time has come.
Abortion rights proponents, who picketed yesterday at the Statehouse, say abortion rights are under attack more so than anytime in American history since Roe v Wade, the landmark Supreme Court 1973 decision that made abortion legal nationwide.
"We know the fight for reproductive freedom will continue for many weeks, months and years to come," said Kellie Copeland, executive director of Naral Pro-Choice Ohio, an abortion and reproductive rights group that has protested on the issue several times at the Statehouse, along with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio and the National Organization for Women Ohio Chapter.
In a previous interview, Copeland told Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com that "no matter what Ohio's lawmakers do, we'll keep fighting."
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Ohio State Senator Nickie Antonio (D-23) |
Also a former U.S. senator, DeWine took office as governor in January after defeating Democrat Richard Chordray last year in a close election, Chordray a former Ohio attorney general, pro-abortion proponent, and consumer watch dog under the Obama administration.
Physicians would violate SB 23 if they perform an abortion when a fetal heartbeat has been detected or if they perform an abortion without determining whether there is a heartbeat, a fifth-degree felony that carries a potential penalty of six to 12 months behind bars, and a $2,500 fine.
Similar bills have been passed by state legislatures in Kentucky, Mississippi and Georgia, with courts blocking such-type of bills in North Carolina and Iowa.
What is clear is that anti-abortion momentum is growing, particularly among White male state lawmakers across the country.
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Black state Reps. Juanita Brent (D-12), Terrence Upchurch (D-10) and Stephanie Howse (D-11), all of Cleveland, and Janine Boyd (D-9) of Cleveland Heights, opposed the bill in the House.
A 2016 presidential candidate, Kasich said he vetoed the heartbeat bill in 2017 and again last year because they were “clearly contrary to Supreme Court rulings."
Those applicable court rulings permit abortions until a viable fetus develops, usually at 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The former governor, however, signed another bill last year that severely restricts abortion into law.
Senate Bill 145, which bans dilation and evacuation abortions, commonly known as D & E abortions, is now state law.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog with some 5 million views on Google Plus alone.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, and who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
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