Thread by @Russo4Ohio

Stand by! We’ll be live-tweeting coverage of the #OHLeg House Health Committee, and the first hearing of HB 68, a bill that would ban all abortions (without exception) after a fetal heartbeat is detected - commonly known as the #HeartbeatBill

Rep. Ron Hood opens up the hearing with sponsor testimony, noting that the Ohio House GOP has repeatedly tried and failed to pass the #HeartbeatBill into law.

Ranking member @Boyd4OH_D9 asks the #HeartbeatBill sponsors why they have prioritized this abortion ban over other family-focused policies - like paid family leave, mental health and postpartum care, domestic violence protections, and early childhood education.

@Boyd4OH_D9 #HeartbeatBill sponsor Rep. Ron Hood says that he doesn’t think that abortion bans actually impact the number of abortions in the state “because women will go to other means to end a pregnancy.”

Long, expensive travel and/or back-alley abortions are deadly.

@Boyd4OH_D9 Rep. Russo notes that we already have a statewide shortage of OB-GYNs, and abortion bans like this #HeartbeatBill can cost Ohio’s medical school residency programs their certification and potential students. #StopTheBans

@Boyd4OH_D9 Bill Sponsor Rep. Keller responds by saying that “abortion is not healthcare, it’s murder.”

Rep. Russo immediately followed up, urging Rep. Candice not to malign our state’s life-saving OB-GYNs as “criminal” or “murderers.”

@Boyd4OH_D9 .@BethWListon, MD makes the important point that Ohio’s State Representatives have a responsibility to govern according to evidence and facts. And this #HeartbeatBill does not reflect medical, social, or policy evidence.

@Boyd4OH_D9 @BethWListon “Is there any evidence that Ohio would be different than all the other states who have seen increased death rates after abortion bans? Access to contraceptives, comprehensive sex ed, and commonsense support of working families does more to reduce abortion” -@BethWListon, MD, PhD

@Boyd4OH_D9 @BethWListon Committee Chairman Merrin encourages the members to be brief in their questions of the #HeartbeatBill sponsors, because there are two more bills to be heard some members have “other official business” to attend to.

@Boyd4OH_D9 @BethWListon Rep. Russo asks the last question: “This bill offers no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health and safety of the mother. How would we protect women who are the victims of rape or incest, who do not have the legal ability to even terminate the parental rights of their rapist?”

@Boyd4OH_D9 @BethWListon #HeartbeatBill sponsor Rep. Ron Hood answers that it “shouldn’t matter if the woman is a victim of rape or incest,” she should still be expected to carry the pregnancy to term.

@Boyd4OH_D9 @BethWListon Ranking member @Boyd4OH_D9 closes by noting that her district has the largest Orthodox population between N.Y. and Chicago, and in the Jewish faith rabbinical thought holds that “life begins at first breath.” Yet there is no religious exemption in this #HeartbeatBill

@Boyd4OH_D9 @BethWListon Rep. Boyd encourages her colleagues to consider the wide-reaching implications of passing this abortion ban, and the overwhelming evidence that it is dangerous and counterproductive, when attempting to legislate women’s private, personal healthcare decisions.

@Boyd4OH_D9 @BethWListon And our constituents agree: polls consistently show that 7 in 10 Americans support legal access to abortion.

Americans trust women to make the most important decisions —about when, where, and how to have families — without political interference.

@Boyd4OH_D9 @BethWListon Critical decisions like these must be made in doctor’s offices, not the Statehouse. These health care decisions should be made in consultation with a doctor who knows her circumstances, and not by a politician who doesn’t. #StopTheBans

@Boyd4OH_D9 @BethWListon Thus ends the first hearing on Ohio HB 68, the #HeartbeatBill. Are you or someone you know interested in defending women’s rights and offering testimony about this bill before the Ohio House Health Committee? After all, it’s YOUR House.

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