Governor John Kasich has signed what pro-life advocates in Ohio are calling the “most pro-life budget in history” thanks to the leadership of Speaker Bill Batchelder and Senate President Keith Faber in the legislature.
Governor Kasich approved the following five Ohio Right to Life-endorsed measures:- Reprioritization of family planning funds away from Planned Parenthood
- Heartbeat informed consent requirement
- Establishment of new funding for pregnancy centers
- Ban on public hospitals from entering into transfer agreements with abortion clinics
- Strengthening of abortion clinic regulation
“Ohio Right to Life applauds Governor Kasich and the vast pro-life majorities in the House and Senate. Low-income pregnant women will now receive greater care and their unborn child will have a much greater opportunity to be born healthy. It took great compassion and courage for our Governor and pro-life legislature to stand up to the abortion industry that blatantly pressured them,” said President of Ohio Right to Life Mike Gonidakis.
“For all their bluster about equality among the genders, democrats have a policy of inequality towards women. If you’re a woman living outside the womb you’re respected and cherished but if you’re a woman living inside the womb not only do they threaten your life, they pretend you don’t exist. Ohioans are grateful there are leaders like Governor Kasich and Republicans in the legislature who care enough to respect all women,” said Gonidakis.
“It should come as no surprise that these laws received the General Assembly’s and Governor’s approval. The people of Ohio elected a pro-life legislature as well as a pro-life Governor. We should all take great comfort in knowing that the majority of our state leaders truly value precious human life as well as higher standards for women’s heath care,” he added.
A local newspaper has more on the pro-life provisions. From the Columbus Dispatch story:
“Significant abortion provisions in the budget were not changed. The bill essentially cuts off Planned Parenthood from about $1.4 million in federal family planning dollars by reprioritizing who can receive the money.
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Under the bill, abortion clinics must have a transfer agreement with a hospital, but they are prohibited from signing one with a public hospital. The bill also requires a doctor to perform an external ultrasound prior to an abortion to search for a heartbeat, and if one is found, must inform the woman. The doctor also must tell the woman the likelihood of the fetus surviving to a full term, and it redefines a fetus as “developing from the moment of conception,” rather than when a fertilized egg has been implanted in the uterus.
The bill also provides funding for crisis pregnancy centers, which supporters say offer women important alternatives to abortion, but critics argue provide medically inaccurate information.”
