The War-On-Women: The Very, Very, Very Odd Edition

The sh*t is finally hitting the fan, so to say, in Ohio. The State House passed Bill 125, which is touted as the “heartbeat bill” because it would essentially ban abortion after a heartbeat can be detected. As early as 6 weeks – before some women might even know they are pregnant.

Well now, some members of the pro-life community are backing away from the legislation, concerned that when the bill gets to the courts, it could serve to reaffirm Roe v. Wade. The emphasis is mine:

The "heartbeat bill" flies in the face of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that protects the right to have an abortion up until the fetus would be viable outside the womb, which is usually placed at about 24 weeks into the pregnancy. If it passes into law, it will likely be challenged in court by any number of abortion rights advocacy groups, resulting in a lengthy legal battle that Ohio would likely lose.

“Unfortunately, the court has ruled that states can place limitations on post-viability abortions, but pre-viability there can be zero restrictions," Mike Gonidakis, executive director of Ohio Right to Life, told the Columbus Dispatch in March. "We certainly don’t want the courts to reaffirm Roe with a decision in Ohio.”

It gets even stranger in Louisiana, this week. Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) signed a bill aimed at deterring women from going through with abortion procedures. The bill would require that signs posted in abortion clinics inform women of alternatives. The signs must also state that it is illegal to coerce women into getting abortions, that pre- and post-pregnancy assistance is available from state and public agencies, that fathers are liable for child support, and that adoptive parents may cover the medical costs of a pregnancy.

And let’s follow the logic here:

Jindal said he couldn't understand why anyone would be opposed to such a law considering even criminals receive the same privilege.

"When officers arrest criminals today, they are read their rights," he said. "Now if we're giving criminals their basic rights and they have to be informed of those rights, it seems to me only common sense we would have to do the same thing for women before they make the choice about whether to get an abortion."

No surprise here – likening women who are deciding about whether or not to have an abortion to criminals. Coming from a state where they actually did try to completely outlaw abortion, but failed.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Most legislation pushed by abortion opponents failed to pass during the Legislature's just-completed session, but abortion supporters expect similar bills to arise next year.

The Legislature did approve a bill setting up a website with information on abortion alternatives and requiring that abortion clinics post signs with similar information.

But other measures died in committee, including a proposed ban on nearly all abortions, a resolution calling on Congress to withdraw funding from the organization Planned Parenthood and a bill to impose on any fetus at least eight weeks into development the same rules of disposal as required for a corpse.

Rep. John LaBruzzo, R-Metairie, is one of the Legislature's hardline abortion opponents. He is vowing to bring back his proposal to ban almost all abortions, even in pregnancies stemming from incest, and says the debate this year helped shape the bill into one that more anti-abortion groups can support.

Unlike the good folks in Ohio, doesn’t sound like this fellow is afraid of supporting a bill that might eventually serve to reaffirm Roe v. Wade. But of course, very, very complicated politics, so we’ll know more later.  In the meantime, they just keep pushing the envelop as far as possible by enacting public policy imperatives all around the country that by limiting access, essentially serve to make a medical procedure (almost) impossible to get in many places.