Two-thirds of the legislators in Ohio in both houses support the bill.
Advertisement
As a supporter of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, the governor earned the wrath of the National Rifle Association-something no would-be Republican nominee wants to deal with.
Ohio Governor John Kasich has a pretty impressive resume-one that includes some serious conservative credentials. “I can’t imagine how any of these laws would be enforceable”.
“They’re trying to encroach on the right to abortion, step by step, and turn a woman’s health care decision into an issue of discrimination against the fetus,” Sara Ainsworth of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women told the New York Times. Similar laws have been proposed in Indiana, Missouri and South Dakota this year, but failed to pass. Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and South Dakota have banned abortions based on gender selection. “Discriminating against a person, not allowing them their God-given right to life, simply because they might have Down syndrome”.
The measure also raises a tough question for Kasich – who has said he is anti-abortion rights, but also supports exemptions for cases involving rape, incest or the life of the mother.
The measure moreover has implications for the 2016 presidential race, as Ohio Gov. John Kasich seeks the Republican nomination and tries to walk a fine line between burnishing his pro-life credentials and positioning himself as a moderate member of the GOP field.
This is, at least in part, a matter of logistics: there’s no requirement for women seeking an abortion to provide a reason why they wish to terminate their pregnancies.
Advertisement
Nearly 90 percent of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted. Would the state automatically assume motive in the instance of an abortion following a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis? Or did, anyway, because now the anti-abortion lobby has been targeting these bills as well, skewing legislation to serve its ends, and hijacking the movement. The Executive Director of Ohio Right to Life, Stephanie Ranade Krider, said, “More and more, it seems that society is rejecting discrimination in favor of diversity, empathy, and understanding for the most vulnerable and marginalized members of our communities”.
