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Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Post-viability abortion ban wins final legislative approval
Ohio would become the 40th state to ban post-viability abortions if Gov. John Kasich approves legislation passed by the Senate on Wednesday.
Republican Kasich is considered likely to sign the bill, although he has not said for certain that he would. Rob Nichols, the governor’s spokesman, said Kasich aides are reviewing it and that Kasich has been “pro-life” throughout his career.
Mike Gonidakis, executive director of the Ohio Right to Life Society, said 39 states have similar bans, including five identical to the Ohio bill. It was approved on the legislature’s last session for the summer.
The Senate vote was 22-7, with all opposition from Democrats. All Dayton-area senators supported the bill, which passed the House earlier. One Democrat, Sen. Jason Wilson of Columbiana, joined Republicans in support.
Sen. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, said the legislation would prohibit the abortions on about 200 babies a year.
“No one can call these babies fetuses or potential life,” said Lehner.
Sen. Nina Turner, D-Cleveland, fired back. Turner said that her sister had been raped and under the bill would not have been permitted to have a post-viability abortion because there is no exception for rape. Her sister, added Turner, did not get pregnant.
“A woman should have the right to control her body,” Turner said.
Based on 2009 Ohio data, the last year for which statistics are available, there were 28,721 abortions in the state.
More than half - 57 percent - occurred at less than nine weeks in the pregnancy. Another 28 percent occurred between nine and 12 weeks and 613 abortions involved pregnancies of 20 weeks or more.
Viability “the ability to live outside the womb” generally occurs at 23 weeks, Lehner said. The bill, however, requires women to be tested for viability at 20 weeks. That’s because sometimes determination of how far along the pregnancy is can be a few weeks off, Lehner said.
If the test shows viability, an abortion would be prohibited unless necessary to save the woman’s life or if there is a serious risk to her physical health. There is no mental health exception.
Gon idakis said the bill is designed to be consistent with federal court guidelines on restricting abortions.
It is less restrictive than the “Heartbeat bill,” which has passed the House, but not the Senate. That measure would be the nation’s most restrictive abortion bill because it would ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which could be as early as five weeks, according to a physician supporting the bill.
The Ohio Right to Life Society does not support the bill because leaders say it would not withstand a court challenge and could set back efforts to restrict abortions. Janet Folger Porter, president of Faith2Action, the group supporting the “Heartbeat” bill, said she has a lot of commitments from senators to consider it in the fall. Porter said that other states are waiting for Ohio to lead the way with the “Heartbeat” bill.
Senate President Tom Niehaus, R-New Richmond, said it was “too early” to tell whether the Senate would take up the bill.
The bill would require a woman seeking abortion to be tested at 20 weeks and if the baby was viable she could not receive an abortion except in medical emergencies..
The legislation is separate from the “Heartbeat” bill which has passed the House but hasn’t been considered by the Senate. It would ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat could be detected. A physician supporting the bill has said that could occur as early as five weeks.
Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, R-Napoleon, House sponsor of the “Heartbeat” bill, said he is going to talk with senators about it but made no predictions.
“I have no idea,” he said, when asked to gauge Senate action.
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TweetKasich talks about debt ceiling on MSNBC
Gov. John Kasich swung by Morning Joe on MSNBC today and talked about the debt ceiling and his first half year as governor.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
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TweetDayton chamber backs campaign to keep Senate Bill 5
The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce has voted to officially endorse the campaign to retain Senate Bill 5, legislation restricting public employee collective bargaining, the campaign to retain the legislation announced Wednesday.
“The reasonable and long-overdue reforms we’re asking of our government employees will protect vital public services while respecting the ability of taxpayers to fund them,” Jason Mauk, spokesman for Building a Better Ohio, said in a press release.
“That’s what this campaign is about, and we’re grateful to have the support of the men and women working every day on the front lines of our effort to build a better Ohio.”
The endorsement was the first by a major urban area chamber, said Mauk.
The Dayton Chamber serves nearly 3,000 job creators and businesses in a nine county region of Ohio, the release said.
Backers of the repeal, who say the legislation unfairly penalizes government workers and will hurt the middle class, have filed petitions with more than one million signatures from registered voters to get a referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Secretary of State Jon Husted is to report by July 26 on whether the petitions have enough valid signatures - 231,147 - to get on the ballot. If not, backers will have an additional 10 days to gather more.
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TweetNational poll: Obama leads Republican challengers; Bachmann moves up in GOP race
President Barack Obama leads all major Republican candidates and potential candidates in a national Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, with the president hitting 50 percent against all GOP challengers except former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
In the race for the GOP nomination, Romney leads with 25 percent, but U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who got in the race recently, is moving up and now finishes second with 14 percent support.
After Bachmann come two potential candidates who haven’t officially joined the race - former Alaska Gov. and 2008 GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin at 12 percent and Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 10 percent.
None of the other GOP hopefuls top 6 percent.
The GOP results compare to a June 8 survey in which Romney led with 25 percent, followed by Palin with 15 percent and Bachmann with 6 percent, then sixth in a 10-candidate field.
Here’s how Obama did in matchups with GOP hopefuls:
* 47 - 41 percent over Romney, the same as June 8
* 50 - 38 percent over Bachmann, who was not pitted against Obama June 8
* 53 - 34 percent over Palin, compared to 53 - 36 percent June 8
* 50 - 37 percent over Perry, who was not matched against Obama June 8.
Big leads among women voters helped the president against GOP challengers.
Among independent voters, a key to winning, Romney leads Obama 42 - 40 percent, but the president tops other GOP candidates with voters in this group.
“The question about Rep. Bachmann is whether she is the flavor of the month, like Donald Trump was for a while, or does she have staying power? Perhaps more than any of the other GOP contenders, Bachmann’s fortunes may depend on whether Govs. Palin or Perry get into the race,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a press release.
“All three of them are likely to appeal to the GOP’s Tea Party constituency.”
Results for other GOP hopefuls for the nomination:
* Entrepreneur Herman Cain, 6 percent
* U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, 5 percent
* Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, 5 percent
* Former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, and U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan, each 1 percent or less.
The poll was based on 2,311 interviews with registered voters conducted from July 5 through Monday, July 11 by live interviewers over land lines and cell phones. Overall, the survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
The survey for the Republican primary included 913 voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percent.
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