For those who thought President Obama's victory meant an end to the war on women, you were incorrect. Instead, writes Michael Arceneaux in Ebony [5], Republicans in states like Ohio are continuing their crusade to make accessing abortion as difficult as possible for women, with legislation like the HB 125 bill.
If that weren't troubling enough, now Republican state legislators in Ohio are contemplating pushing what's been described as the most restrictive abortion bill in the country. Yes, HB 125 would ban abortions in any case where a heartbeat is detected -- which may occur as early as six weeks into a woman's pregnancy. Moreover, this "heartbeat bill" would ban abortions in cases where women may not even realize they're pregnant yet.
Of course, this back-and-forth is coming at the expense of more feasible legislation. Laws that if enacted, would probably do more to curtail unwanted pregnancies than painfully limited abortion laws that violate the rights of women to do as they please with their bodies. Only treated to what's been described as a "complimentary hearing," H. B. No. 338, which has been pegged the Prevention First Act, is a comprehensive sexual health and education bill that would establish standards for treatment of sexual assault victims. It would also require HIV/AIDS education, create a state teen pregnancy task force, and form a sex education program for schools that deemphasizes abstinence. Say, because abstinence-only teaching hasn't exactly done wonders with respect to wadding off teenage pregnancy stats.
Read Michael Arceneaux's entire piece at Ebony [5].
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