State lawmakers are considering two bills. One would prevent an abortion from being performed at the point a fetal heartbeat can be heard. The other affects abortion coverage through the health care exchanges now being set up. That bill would prevent Ohioans from purchasing insurance that includes abortion coverage, even if they agree to pay for it with their own money. Gary Daniels of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio has three words for lawmakers if they pass this bill.
Daniels - We will sue.
Daniels thinks both bills are unconstitutional for a variety of reasons. He says the bill that would prevent private purchase of abortion coverage is unconstitutional in light of state law too. Daniels explains the freedom to choose health care options was at the heart of the vote for issue three…the constitutional amendment passed by nearly a two thirds margin last month.
Daniels - I find it ironic with the passage of issue three some people saw that as a clear message that people here in Ohio sent a clear message that they want government out of the business of health care. That’s how some people analyze that vote. The ironic thing is some of these same supporters of issue three are turning around saying you can’t purchase, even with your own money, certain types of health insurance. And I think supporters of issue three…and even those who weren’t supporters…will be very surprised that Ohio legislators are trying to go to that length.
Kelly Copeland with the National Abortion Rights Action League of Ohio says if this bill is passed, Ohioans might find themselves saddled with thousands of dollars of hospital bills if a pregnancy goes wrong, posing a health threat to the mother.
Copeland – Those types of abortions in a hospital setting can be quite expensive. And to have a wanted pregnancy and have something go wrong….and when you need a termination and to have a concern on top of that as to whether the family can afford to pay those medical bills because their legislators decided they couldn’t use their own money to purchase insurance that could take care of them in their time of need is outrageous.
But Linda Thies with the group Ohio Pro Life Action says it’s time to take a harder line on abortion in The Buckeye State.
Theis – We know that there are a number of Supreme Court cases that have come down one in particular with Gonzales versus Carhart that says for the first time, the unborn is going to be referred to as a human being, for the first time in history, from the moment of detectable heartbeat. So we feel that’s the open door that we have to be able to pry open with something like this.
As far as the effect of the newly passed health care amendment to the state’s constitution is concerned, Theis says she’s unsure what its impact might be on the insurance bill now under consideration.
Theis - I can’t see that there would be a conflict because it was pretty clear that people don’t want to follow what President Obama has said in his health care. We will have to have our attorneys take a look at it, I’m sure, but we haven’t heard anything along those lines at all. That’s pretty brand new to me.
But Mike Gonadakis with Ohio Right to Life says he has looked at the issue and thinks the ACLU has it wrong.
Gonadakis – The federal health care law commonly referred to as Obamacare specifically says states can opt out of abortion coverage in the state exchange. Ohio will be the 13th state once this is passed and signed by our governor. And as we all know, federal law trumps state law regardless of whether it’s statute or otherwise.
It’s now up to Ohio lawmakers to decide whether to pass the legislation, knowing passage would spark lawsuits.