In what seemed like deja vu, Republicans in the Ohio legislature rigged a committee vote on the anti-abortion law known as the Heartbeat Bill (House Bill 248). The GOP pulled a similar stunt back in 2011 in the Ohio Senate to pass out of committee Senate Bill 5 that attempted to strip collective bargaining from public employee unions.
A bill to ban abortions in Ohio once a fetal heartbeat is detected passed a House committee this morning, after the panel was altered to help ensure passage.
The bill passed 10-6 on a party-line vote with Democrats, including Rep. Mike Curtin of Marble Cliff, voting against it.
Prior to the morning hearing of the House Health and Aging Committee, some expected Republican “no” votes were removed, replaced with members who would support the legislation.
At least five new people were added to the committee so who knows if the bill would have been passed had the Republicans not rigged the vote.
Now is the time to contact your Ohio representatives and senators to oppose this bill. We shouldn’t depend on the bill not coming up for a vote like what happened last time in made it to the Senate.
This was probably the best quote in the Dispatch article about the committee vote:
“I did not put my hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible,” said Rep. Robert F. Hagan, D-Youngstown.
