Roe v. Wade dictates that women have a right under the 14th amendment to the Constitution to undergo an abortion – whether it’s for health-related reasons, or because they’re unprepared to take care of a child.
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Between 60 and 90 percent of fetal Down syndrome diagnoses lead to abortion, according to an academic article reviewing research studies from 1995 to 2011 on the percentage of women who choose to terminate their pregnancies. “I can’t imagine how any of these laws would be enforceable.” Governor John Kasich has signed abortion restriction before but has not released his stance on the bill. “Medical decisions should not be made in the Statehouse, they should be made in doctors’ offices based on sound medical science.”
“‘If abortion on demand is legal, ‘ said Dr. Marjorie Greenfield, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, ‘and you can have an abortion just because you want to, what does it mean to say you can’t abort for Down syndrome?”
Ohio’s law would be the first in the US specifically banning Down syndrome abortions. Similar laws have been considered in three other states. And in the few that have passed them-North Dakota, where it’s illegal to abort based on fetal genetic anomalies (like Down Syndrome); Arizona, where doctor’s can’t peform abortions if the reaon is the “sex or race of the child, or the race of a parent of that child”-there’s no evidence they’re being enforced”. Nor has the law changed anything at the state’s only abortion provider, the Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo, said Tammi Kromenaker, its director.
The proposal has attracted national attention because Ohio governor John Kasich is one of the contenders for the Republican presidential nomination. By considering the condition of the fetus, it also comes close to recognizing the fetus as a person.
But, as Perry noted in a January RH Reality Check op-ed, pro-information laws have also become politicized by anti-abortion groups.
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While seeking to defund Planned Parenthood, Ohio Right to Life wants to channel state funding into pregnancy crisis centers, NARAL spokesman Gabriel Mann told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Contraception is critical to helping women plan their pregnancies and reducing the infant mortality rate in the state of Ohio.”
