abortions

Since taking control of Ohio in January, the Republicans, lead by Governor John Kasich, have been on a rampage of right wing ideological legislation. Now the Ohio Assembly is set to take up another slice of that agenda:

Abortions in Ohio would be banned at most publicly funded hospitals, clinics and other facilities under a proposal Senate Republicans are considering putting in the state budget, a Senate GOP official told The Associated Press on Monday.

The official, who had direct knowledge of the changes being discussed, requested anonymity because the revisions were still a part of negotiations.

State senators are also weighing a separate amendment to restrict public employees' insurance from covering abortions, the official said. Not included would be those public employees of the state's two chartered counties and chartered municipalities, which account for roughly two-thirds of the cities in the state.

This can be added to the growing list of idealogical legislation either passed or in the process of being passed, which includes: stripping unions of bargaining rights, opening Ohio parks to oil drilling, stopping the voter approved casinos, allowing people to carry guns into bars, etc., etc., etc.

The Republicans have no intentions of creating jobs in Ohio. They don't care about our state's economy. All the Republicans are worried about is rushing through an agenda based upon their social agenda.

The House Republicans are determined to expand the role of the IRS:

Under a GOP-backed bill expected to sail through the House of Representatives, the Internal Revenue Service would be forced to police how Americans have paid for their abortions. To ensure that taxpayers complied with the law, IRS agents would have to investigate whether certain terminated pregnancies were the result of rape or incest. And one tax expert says that the measure could even lead to questions on tax forms: Have you had an abortion? Did you keep your receipt?

In testimony to a House taxation subcommittee on Wednesday, Thomas Barthold, the chief of staff of the nonpartisan Joint Tax Committee, confirmed that one consequence of the Republicans' "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" would be to turn IRS agents into abortion cops—that is, during an audit, they'd have to detemine, from evidence provided by the taxpayer, whether any tax benefit had been inappropriately used to pay for an abortion.

I wonder how this is going to fix the deficit or create jobs? Well it might to do the latter:

"Were this to become law, people could end up in an audit, the subject of which could be abortion, rape, and incest," says Christopher Bergin, the head of Tax Analysts, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit tax policy group. "If you pass the law like this, the IRS would be required to enforce it."

Yeah we would need more IRS auditors, but of course that would cost more money.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), one of the pro-life Democrats, is dropping hints that he will oppose the Stupak amendment in the health care bill:

Senator Casey has been a vocal supporter of health care reform and voted for the HELP Committee bill in July. He supports the public option to increase competition and reduce costs. And he is offering amendments to improve health care for children. Senator Casey thinks that health care reform should not be used to change longstanding policies regarding federal financing of abortion which has been in place since 1976.

He continues to work with his colleagues in the Senate and with the White House to ensure that the Senate health care reform bill protects existing federal and state conscience protections, existing state abortion laws and contains strong language to prohibit federal funds from being used to fund abortions. He voted for amendments in the HELP Committee that would maintain neutrality on abortion. Until Senate bill language is released it is premature to discuss next steps.

Hopefully Casey has opened the door for other pro-life members of Congress to give opposition to the Stupak amendment.

From HuffPo:

Anti-abortion activist Lila Rose said at last weekend's Value Voters Summit that as long as abortions are legal, they should be "done in the public square," thus disgusting people into action. And then "we might hear angels singing as we ponder the glory of conception."

Sure I’ll get behind this idea, but only if it is coupled with this one. These wingers that are such war hawks get to go into theater and recover the remains of our soldiers killed in duty. Also they get to be present when the family is informed of their loss. Let them see the gruesome results of their love for war.

Here in Ohio, today marked a day that could generate the strictest abortions laws yet in the country. The bill would have basically eliminated all abortions in the state. The bill was discussed in the committee and now is apparently dead:

A bill that would ban all abortions in Ohio is expected to draw enthusiastic audiences and spirited debate to the Statehouse today for the first, and likely last, hearing on the proposal.

After dozens of supporters and opponents of abortion rights spend a good six hours making their cases, House Bill 228 is expected to be placed back in a file cabinet and left to die at the end of the year.

"I don’t see it coming back," said Scott Borgemenke, chief of staff for Speaker Jon A. Husted, R-Kettering, adding that an abortion bill is not among the priorities this year for Republicans, who control both branches of the legislature.

What is amazing is that even a number of right to lifers opposed this bill because it would eliminate all abortions. There would be none at all. That means if a mother was going to die if she did not have her 12 week old fetus aborted, she would die. It was purely a political move and one that has died.

Tom Brinkman, the man who introduced this legislation, is a full blown neo-con. He follows in the same footsteps as Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman. You can read more about Brinkman here.

Here is our turn back in time from the AP

S.D. Governor Signs Abortion Ban Into Law
 By CHET BROKAW, Associated Press Writer

Gov. Mike Rounds on Monday signed legislation banning almost all abortions in South Dakota.

The Legislature passed the ban late last month, focusing nationwide interest on the state as the governor decided what to do about the measure.

The law, designed to raise a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, is scheduled to take effect July 1.

Under the law, doctors in South Dakota will face up to five years in prison for performing an abortion except when the procedure is necessary to save the mother's life.

Rounds issued a technical veto of a similar measure two years ago because it would have wiped out all existing restrictions on abortion while the bill was tied up for years in a court challenge.

South Dakota Planned Parenthood said it planned a quick court challenge.

Seems like the race is on for states to try and test the waters with our conservative Supreme Court. If this does happen and Roe gets overturned I hope the people who decided to stay at home in November 2004 realize what has happened. The people mostly influenced by such a decision are the same people who feel their vote doesn't matter. Well this will be proof that they are so wrong.

 UPDATE:

John McCain says he would of signed the bill into law given a few conditions. McJoan has more details on it.

A new study released finds that fetuses most likely do not feel pain until
the final months of pregnancy. This challenges the long time argument of the
Pro-Lifers that abortions are violent and painful to fetuses. This will most
likely spark a extra heated debate amongst medical professionals as they try to
credit and dispute this new finding. The

Associated Press has more on this story.