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Dayton
Daily News...
“Heartbeat”
bill faces likely
constitutional challenge
By William Hershey
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
The
American Civil Liberties Union of
Ohio Tuesday said it would mount legal challenges against the
“Heartbeat” bill,
legislation banning abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, and a
second
bill restricting abortion.
“Both
of these bills are clearly
unconstitutional and the ACLU will challenge them in court,” Christine
Link,
ACLU-Ohio executive director, said in a press release.
“…Lawmakers
should seriously consider
whether it is worth wasting taxpayer dollars on costly litigation
simply to
earn a few political points.”
Rep.
Lynn Wachtmann, R-Napoleon,
sponsor of the “Heartbeat” bill, lashed back.
“I’m
sure those who continually want
to kill the unborn will use every tool they have in the courts….,” he
said.
Representatives
from NARAL Pro-Choice
Ohio and the ACLU-Ohio have set a 1:30 p.m. news conference at the
Statehouse
to discuss the potential litigation.
One
basis for the challenge is the
constitutional amendment voters created last month with the passage of
Issue 3,
which prohibits any mandate requiring Ohioans to buy health care
coverage,
according to NARAL Ohio and the ACLU-Ohio.
“It
is shocking that, on the heels of
Issue 3’s passage, the Ohio Senate is attempting to pass two
anti-choice bills
that violate our newly amended state constitution,” Kellie Copeland,
NARAL
Pro-Choice Ohio executive director, said in a press release.
The
amendment also says no state,
federal or local law or rule shall prohibit the purchase of health care
or
health insurance and that no law or rule shall impose a penalty or fine
for the
sale or purchase of health care or health insurance.
Both
House Bill 125, the “Heartbeat”
bill and House Bill 79, which bans Ohioans from purchasing health
insurance
that include abortion coverage through the exchanges created by the
federal
health care law championed by President Barack Obama, even if they pay
for the
abortion coverage themselves.
The
House has passed both bills and
both are being considered by the Senate. Copeland also said the bills
would
endanger women’s health and interfere with the doctor-patient
relationship.
The
new constitutional amendment says
that it does not affect laws or rules in effect as of March 19, 2010.
Both
bills subject to the possible litigation would not take effect until
after
this.
Read
this and other articles at the
Dayton Daily News
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