Recently, Georgia, Ohio and Vermont have passed measures with respect to women’s reproductive health and the reactions range from supportive to livid. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, took special issue with Georgia’s new “Fetal Heartbeat” legislation. The law would ban abortion as early into a pregnancy as six-weeks, and she lamented some women don’t even know they’re pregnant at that point. The California lawmaker pointed to her colleagues on the other side of the aisle as the champions of the restrictive bills.
“Georgia’s new law banning abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy–before many women even know they’re pregnant–is clearly an attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade as part of ongoing Republican attacks on women’s health care,” said Feinstein. “This law is blatantly unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has repeatedly made clear that laws banning abortion before viability run afoul of Roe. Women make up more than half the population, run Fortune 500 companies and have leadership roles in government. It’s unacceptable that, in 2019, we’re still fighting Republican efforts to replace a woman’s choice with that of politicians.”
In defense of the bill, however, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said the bill reiterated the state’s “commitment to life and the rights of the innocent unborn.”
“I applaud the members who supported the heartbeat bill’s passage for protecting the vulnerable and giving a voice to those who cannot yet speak for themselves,” said Kemp after the state Senate passed the bill.
Ohio’s Planned Insurance Changes Ruffle Some Feathers
Ohio State Representative John Becker introduced House Bill 182, which would “financially separate” insurances plans and abortion coverage, according to his office. “This bill is primarily about saving lives while ensuring that Ohioans don’t need to choose between maintaining their insurance plan and violating their conscience,” said Becker. “It prevents ratepayers from subsidizing the killing of innocent human beings.”
According to information from his office, the bill does not apply to private-sector self-insured companies and does not prohibit “any entity from directly paying for their employees’ abortion services.”
As reported from the Statehouse News Bureau, however, Jaime Miracle, deputy director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said part of the bill that calls for reattaching fertilized eggs in the case of ectopic and tubal pregnancies defies science. “That doesn’t exist in the realm of treatment for ectopic pregnancy. You can’t just re-implant. It’s not a medical thing," said Miracle to Statehouse. She also expressed concerns for the lives of mothers and infants.
Vermont Changes Constitution to Protect Abortions
Last week, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) came out in support of Prop 5, which would amend the state’s constitution to “guarantee Vermonters the right to personal reproductive liberty.” According to Planned Parenthood, if approved, Vermont would be the first state to offer such protections in its constitution.
“This proactive policy work is part of a counter movement rising up from state advocates in response to the Trump agenda and Kavanaugh's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, which puts abortion access on the line,” the statement reads. “New York's Reproductive Health Act, passed earlier this year, marked the beginning of a sea change, in which nearly half of states introduced policies that protect and expand access to safe, legal abortion."
In order to pass a constitutional amendment, a measure must pass the House and Senate in two consecutive bienniums and then pass a ballot referendum in 2022.