The Ohio General Assembly has advanced the controversial "Heartbeat Bill," which bans abortion as soon as a heart beat is detectable, for the second time in two years.
Now that the bill has been approved by the Ohio General Assembly, it will advance to the Senate and then onto the governor if passed, where it will await either approval or denial.
In 2016 Governor John Kasich vetoed the heartbeat bill, saying it would undoubtedly be blocked in court. This time, however, the Ohio General Assembly reached the minimum of 60 votes it needed to override a gubernatorial veto if necessary.
Whether you're anti- or pro-choice, the basis of this bill toes the line of violating the constitutional decision of Roe v. Wade, and it puts the health of millions of women in danger. It's an attempt to put the fate of a woman's body to anyone else's hands but their own.
It is nothing more than a way to challenge Roe v. Wade and completely revoke any autonomy a woman has regarding her reproductive health. The thing we have to understand is, whatever side of the issue you may stand on, is that bills like these do not prevent abortion.
Instead, what happens is women who seek abortions will still continue to seek them, but will do so illegally.
It will see the return of potentially fatal, botched back-alley attempts to terminate a pregnancy. It will see coat hangers and women throwing themselves down stairs, all because their access to safe abortions are prohibited.
Most women have no idea that they're even pregnant until AFTER the six week mark when the heartbeat usually becomes detectable. Women not trying to become pregnant don't normally take pregnancy tests often, leaving them unaware of their situation. By the time they do find out, their choices have been made for them. This takes away an and all decision making process for a woman after finding out she's pregnant.
Now, not only is it "Surprise, you're pregnant!" it's also "Surprise, your only choice is to have a baby!"
If by chance they learn of their pregnancy before they're six weeks along, it will be very close to the six-week mark and it gives them little to no time to make a decision and/or raise the funds needed for a procedure as costly as an abortion.
This bill puts women in terrible positions of being pressured, puts their health in danger, and makes bodily autonomy virtually impossible.
Again, this bill will not decrease the number of abortions. If a woman chooses to end her pregnancy, a decision which will no doubt take an extreme toll on her health, it won't matter if she has access to a safe and legal option. She'll either take matters into her own hands, or drive one state over where an abortion can still be obtained legally.
We have to stop putting women in the position of forcing them to carry out pregnancies. It's dangerous, both mentally and physically, and it's demeaning.
Many people think that abortions are an easy decision for women to make. Like choosing where to eat for dinner or what to wear to work. What people don't understand is that oftentimes, this decision is agonizing for women. It's something they struggle with on a level deeper than anyone but themselves can understand, and this bill only aims to increase those feelings tenfold.
To add to its absurdity, this bill makes NO exceptions in cases of rape or incest, proving that it, in fact, has very little to do with the protection or care of children, and everything to do with making women bend under the will of a government who cares very little for their wellbeing. Women who are survivors of rape are already emotionally scarred, and this would force them to continue with the trauma by carrying a fetus that is a direct result and reminder of their attackers.
We have children living in extreme poverty, living in overcrowded group and foster homes, living on the streets and starving.
We have parents who prey on and abuse their children.
We have a dangerous overpopulation dilemma.
And yet here we are, with the Ohio General Assembly proposing bills like these to not only take away a woman's God-given right to her own body but to bring children into this world whether they want or can afford them or not.
And besides, it shouldn't have to come down to why a woman wants to end her pregnancy. Its no one's business but her own. There should not be a short list of "acceptable" conditions under which an abortion is okay. The only acceptable condition needed is that the woman no longer wants to be pregnant. The only thing that matters is that she's doing what's best for her.
What now?
This bill will be brought to a vote by Ohio's Senate soon.
Call your State Senators. Email them. Write them letters.
Make sure they know where you stand on reproductive rights. Make sure they understand your position and why it should be theirs too.
We cannot move backward in women's rights. I cannot — will not — regress into a time where someone besides myself has a legal say over my body. I refuse to let my fellow women lose access to safety and legality without at least putting up a fight.
The Heartbeat Bill is an attack on women and is nothing more than a declaration of power, a show of strength in the war women arw fighting against legislation that takes away our choices.
#MyBodyMyChoice
