Gov. John Kasich vetoes Heartbeat Bill, signs 20-week abortion ban
Source: Columbus Dispatch
Ohio Gov. John Kasich today vetoed the Heartbeat Bill forbidding abortions when a fetal heartbeat can be detected while signing into law a second bill banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The second-term Republican previously had expressed concerns about the constitutionality of the Heartbeat Bill, which would have been the most restrictive abortion law in the nation.
Federal courts struck down identical measures in two states in finding it was an undue state restriction on a woman's right to an abortion at a point when some women do not realize they are pregnant.
I agree with Ohio Right to Life and other leading, pro-life advocates that SB 127 is the best, most legally sound and sustainable approach to protecting the sanctity of human life," Kasich said in a statement. He described himself as working hard "to strengthen Oho's protections for the sanctity of human life."
Read more: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/13/John-Kasich-acts-on-abortion-bills.html
Someone's getting an angry tweet...
scscholar
(2,902 posts)Sad what America has become.
Fast Walker 52
(7,723 posts)could have been worse, as the right wanted to use that to challenge Roe v Wade.
pnwmom
(109,015 posts)and like Reagan, hard to the right.
progressoid
(50,000 posts)arithia
(455 posts)No exceptions for mental health either, meaning women who need to start taking mental health medications (which generally harm a fetus) would have to wait until they pop out their womb fruit for treatment.
Diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar and in desperate need of medical attention? If you are pregnant, tough shit.
Raped by your daddy and hid it for fear of more abuse? Tough shit.
F*ck you, Kasich.
Fast Walker 52
(7,723 posts)brooklynite
(94,803 posts)To the average voter, allowing a woman 5 months to decide on an abortion will not sound overly burdensome.
arithia
(455 posts)I've had lengthy conversations with people about how most birth defects aren't detectable till 20 weeks or later. Not all birth defects will kill the mother, but they can certainly kill the child.
So, in reality, Kasich and legions of uneducated or otherwise ignorant Americans are going to force women to carry dead babies to term. They will force the cost burden of birth upon women whose babies were never meant to draw breath. They will force families to going through the pain of watching a child suffer that shouldn't have.
Many voters are ignorant of the reality of mental health medications. They can cause severe abnormalities, many of which won't be seen until after the 20 week mark. Oh sure, some can take birth control... but some of us cant for various reasons. Do we really want people with severe bipolar or schizophrenia going off their meds for 9 months when they don't need to?
Heck, some women even have their monthly as normal well into their pregnancy. For many women, they don't know till they show.
Don't even get me started on the realities of domestic violence, rape or incest.
Then there is the delay that often occurs when determining "will this kill the mother" when there is a felony punishment for the abortion. Many medical providers, particularly religious hospitals, will err on the side of caution and send women home mid-miscarriage for fear of violating the law or their religious rules for the institution. We are already seeing the harmful effects of these bills elsewhere in the country.
It's f*cked. We need to teach people better.
Dorian Gray
(13,514 posts)not make exception for medical issues/illness/emergencies?
The 6 week bill was a travesty. I'm sure that was propped up in the media to make this one not sound so bad.
arithia
(455 posts)So if the developing fetus say, never develops a brain, the mother will still be expected to carry the child to term if the problem is discovered after the 20 week mark- which is the earliest many serious mutations can be detected.
And we already know (from actual experience) what happens when doctors face repercussions for anything other than saving the life of the mother- they wait too long for treatment to save their own asses. It doesn't even need to be the law- just the shitty rule of the religious hospital.
I have no doubt that the legislature pushed the 6 week bill in order to distract from the 20 week one, which they knew they could probably sneak through. It won't go unchallenged, but there will be less of a resistance to it than a bill that cuts off services before many women even know they are pregnant.
Dorian Gray
(13,514 posts)6 week heartbeat bill! The drum beat! Oppressive Ohio!
Oh, wait! Look. They signed a different bill. This one's not so bad, right?????
I can't believe they'd expect a mother to carry an unviable child to term if they learned the fetus had serious issues (like no brain development!). Jesus. Unnecessarily cruel.
janx
(24,128 posts)become an M.D.?
roamer65
(36,747 posts)It violates the 14th amendment's equal protection clause.
Kang Colby
(1,941 posts)I support the pro-choice position.
The 20 week mark is fairly standard for Europe - in fact that's much further along than allowed in France or Germany. I'm not trying to justify it either, just pointing it out.
Nonhlanhla
(2,074 posts)Fetal anomalies are often not detected until the 20 week anatomy scan. People who seek abortions after 20 weeks are often ones who find themselves in a position of having to abort a WANTED pregnancy where things went drastically wrong. Penalizing them does not prevent the majority of abortions (which occur before 20 weeks) - it just punishes families who are already finding themselves in the most heartbreaking moment of their lives.