Progress Ohio | Average Jane's blog: When will state legislators stop pretending to be doctors?

When will state legislators stop pretending to be doctors?

By OHliz - Jul 17th, 2008 at 7:29 am EDT

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Categories: Action Alerts, Reproductive Rights, Women's Issues, Front Page

Got this email today from Gary Dougherty, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Ohio: Will the Ohio General Assembly Give Men the Final Decision about a Woman's Reproductive Health Care Choices?

One year ago, State Rep. John Adams (R-Sidney) introduced one of the most outrageous pieces of legislation we have ever seen.

House Bill 287 would require a woman to have the written informed consent of the prospective father of her fetus before being allowed to have an abortion.

That's right...If the man says "No," there will be no abortion. Period!

This bill may actually be scheduled for hearings in the coming weeks.

To raise awareness about this offensive bill, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Ohio is partnering with ProgressOhio, an outreach organization that builds awareness of legislative issues.

You're not going to believe this...

HB 287 also requires that, if the identity of the prospective father is unknown, a paternity test must be performed to determine his identity so that his consent could be obtained prior to performing the abortion.

What is left unsaid is that prenatal paternity testing:

cannot be performed until at least the 10th week of pregnancy, near the end of the first trimester,
is an invasive procedure using a long needle through the abdomen to collect fetal cells,
is expensive – up to $2,000 per test, and
poses a potential medical risk.

The practical effect of the paternity test requirement would prevent some women from obtaining an abortion during the first trimester.

Once paternity is established, if the man says "No," there will be no abortion.

Even worse...

If the pregnancy resulted from rape, the woman would be required to provide a police report proving it.
If the pregnancy resulted from incest, the woman would be required to provide a paternity test or a police report.
If the woman chooses not to identify the prospective father (perhaps out of fear for her own physical well-being), her only recourse would be to continue the pregnancy against her wishes or have an illegal abortion, a first degree misdemeanor.

Help ProgressOhio and Planned Parenthood "veto" this bill now! We Can't Let Them Get Away with This!***

You're right, Gary, we can't let them get away with this. Furthermore, we need to get Republican noses out of our gynecologists' offices. This control-freak Big Brother attitude has got to stop.

Rep. Adams is not qualified to even vote on this bill, let alone introduce it. He apparently has no medical background whatsoever. "Attended Mesa Community College" is his only education credential.

It's like sponsoring a farm bill without bothering to talk to farmers about it. House Bill 287 is horrendously bad legislation. Please join me in signing Planned Parenthood's petition against HB 287.

Reader Comments

They're not doctors, they're human

By User from Fowler, OH Jul 21st 2008 at 9:27 pm EDT

I was browsing the internet and got to wondering about abortion and what it entailed. I always knew I thought it very wrong and wanted to back it up in other ways as well, such as showing post-killed-baby photos to women in such a terrible situation who felt they had no other choice. Go to Priests for Life, they have actual pictures and videos of these atrocities. I am a mother and cannot imagine my Life without my two adorable children whom God has blessed me with. I also feel very sorry for the women who feel the need to go through with this. Yes there is an easier way than paternity tests, rape charges, etc etc. The easier way is the right way. A baby is not a "choice" but a natural result of the choice to have sex when one cannot accept the expected consequences. Sex is a choice women can freely make but to mutilate another Life-and I do always capitalize that word-is not so fair to the little human inside her. Average Jane I'm a Christian woman and felt compelled to tell you you're following the wrong path in Life, but there's something so much better. It might sound crazy to you but you're a good writer with strong opinions, and that is respectable. But why not use those assets to instead educate Ohio on the reasons NOT to do this? I don't understand why in most cases a woman can't at least give the baby a chance to be born and given to a loving family who yearn deeply for a child and cannot have one? What is happening to humanity?????

Thanks for writing

By OHliz Jul 22nd 2008 at 4:45 am EDT

Like you, I'm a mother and church member. I wish we lived in a world without poverty, rape, incest, genetic diseases, maternal illness, contraceptive failure, unprotected moments of passion and human fallibility, but we don't.

I don't want anyone to have an abortion. I really don't. But it's a fact that if you make legal abortion inaccessible, do-it-yourself septic abortions will be common -- and I'm sure you'll agree, nobody wants that.

Banning abortion or putting legal obstacles in its way (like this bill) doesn't stop abortions -- it just makes them unsafe. The only way to reduce abortions safely is to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Link

As for Priests for Life and their abortion photo collection, I would like to point out that miscarried and aborted fetuses look identical. As many as 40% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Link PFL looks like celibate men without medical experience trying to frighten and bully women to me.

I really can't get over the gall of Rep. Adams and other state legislators who support this bill. They want to control women's bodies to the point of harming fetuses!

This bill is way over the line of a state legislator's jurisdiction. I don't want my sons to have to live with this kind of Big Brother intrusive government.

Re: Thanks for writing

By User from Fowler, OH Jul 22nd 2008 at 7:48 am EDT

I respect what you're trying to say. But did you read the last 3 sentences of my former reply? Sometimes there's no valid reason for this. Abortion is more often than not just a selfish way to avoid what God has planned for a woman. I couldn't believe when I saw the different procedures that any human being could do this to their own body and especially to the child they were carrying in their very own womb. The pictures of burned babies, the mutilated babies, the ones that looked like a pile of vomit on a plate, the ones who were victims of the horrendous partial birth abortion!!! That one alone is just evil. Some of these babies may have been healthy infants that far along in the pregnancy, and then to kill them when they may have had a chance? Can you imagine what this world would be like if all the "good people" never were because they were dismembered and sucked out like they never mattered? How ironic my pediatrician, who loves babies, is two doors down from a planned parenthood facility, where the room is darkened and the curtains always drawn and the door always shut. What does that say about the place? They should be so ashamed of what goes on in there. It's like they don't want anyone to see them. Just because a woman can't see what they're really doing to her doesn't mean it isn't happening. That's wonderful you're in church Jane, really. But it's one thing to be a church member and another to actually be saved and try to follow Christ, because we all know we'll stand before Him one day. Am I a "religious freak?" NO. I am however trying to spread the word on the grave spiritual danger of supporting these types of organizations. Would your church be proud to know that you want to fight for them? I do understand what you are trying to say. But also I feel you should advocate for all the circumstances where abortion is definitely not the only choice. I know a wonderful woman who's suffered nearly a dozen miscarriages, and what she would give for one of those precious unwanted children!

Abortion & miscarriage are tragic

By OHliz Jul 22nd 2008 at 8:53 am EDT

We agree there. And I wish more women would unselfishly give their infants up for adoption. But statistically, from what I understand, "Juno" is just a fantasy movie.

I'm sincerely glad you responded to this post. I've been called a "babykiller" and "scumbag" by "Christians" for expressing my pro-choice views. At least you are civil.

The point of my post was this: LEAVE MY UTERUS ALONE, REPUBLICANS. IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

I apologize for my snarkiness, User from Fowler,OH, but if abortion was so important to Jesus, why didn't he say something about it?

Re: Abortion & miscarriage are tragic

By User from Fowler, OH Jul 22nd 2008 at 11:43 pm EDT

Dear Jane

I thank you for your reply and that you're not a hateful prochoice person, either. As to being civil I am a true Christian and don't believe in calling names or treating any fellow human being inferior or bad simply because they have a different perspective on things. I'm also the first to admit I have many faults and don't pretend to be someone I'm not. So I'm not hypocritical and I won't "force" this on you. All I know is after what I've learned on abortion and what I looked at last night I will never accept it, especially the very inhumane procedures such as partial birth (Can you imagine a doctor actually stabbing a baby in the skull, killing it? Spreading apart the wound with scissors so the brains can be sucked out? That's frightening!) I also had never heard of the procedure in which salty fluids replaced some of the amniotic fluid so the baby could swallow them and basically burn to death. Please tell me you can't imagine the terrible sadness of such a scene. It breaks my heart that people are doing this in this wonderful country of ours! Jesus does talk about this in the Bible. I replied to one of your former blogs in which you say something like, "Correct me if I'm wrong patriot pastors but there's nothing in the Bible about abortion..." something like that. There are many verses and stories in which the He addresses the unborn. I gave you just a few, but I can write more about that later. I don't know if you believe that some things were meant to happen, but I feel it's no coincidence I found you. You seem like such a good person and I just want to share what I know. I also have very strong beliefs and opinions but will always be respectful. That is one thing about a true Christian, we're not mean, intimidating, or extreme. But my heart goes out to everyone involved in this massacre. And I don't think you're "snarky." Respectfully "R" Jen

Re: Abortion & miscarriage are tragic

By User from Fowler, OH Jul 22nd 2008 at 11:46 pm EDT

Dear Jane

I thank you for your reply and that you're not a hateful prochoice person, either. As to being civil I am a true Christian and don't believe in calling names or treating any fellow human being inferior or bad simply because they have a different perspective on things. I'm also the first to admit I have many faults and don't pretend to be someone I'm not. So I'm not hypocritical and I won't "force" this on you. All I know is after what I've learned on abortion and what I looked at last night I will never accept it, especially the very inhumane procedures such as partial birth (Can you imagine a doctor actually stabbing a baby in the skull, killing it? Spreading apart the wound with scissors so the brains can be sucked out? That's frightening!) I also had never heard of the procedure in which salty fluids replaced some of the amniotic fluid so the baby could swallow them and basically burn to death. Please tell me you can't imagine the terrible sadness of such a scene. It breaks my heart that people are doing this in this wonderful country of ours! Jesus does talk about this in the Bible. I replied to one of your former blogs in which you say something like, "Correct me if I'm wrong patriot pastors but there's nothing in the Bible about abortion..." something like that. There are many verses and stories in which He addresses the unborn. I gave you just a few, but I can write more about that later. I don't know if you believe that some things were meant to happen, but I feel it's no coincidence I found you. You seem like such a good person and I just want to share what I know. I also have very strong beliefs and opinions but will always be respectful. That is one thing about a true Christian, we're not mean, intimidating, or extreme. But my heart goes out to everyone involved in this massacre. And I don't think you're "snarky." Respectfully "R" Jen