A measure to ban abortion has been introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives dominated by Republicans, just one of the increasing number of anti-choice measures moving through individual states. The measure proposed in Ohio could ban abortion throughout a pregnancy, and Ohio would join the 15 states that have already enacted such “trigger laws” that could go into effect were Roe v. Wade overturned. A similar bill is being proposed in Indiana, and anti-abortion lawmakers in both states see the legislation as a first step in mounting a challenge to Roe v. Wade.
Ohio and Indiana were among 19 states that received an “F” in terms of reproductive rights in a recent report from NARAL Pro-Choice America, ranking 39th and 35th respectively. The report also noted that the number of abortion restrictions passed in 2005 was double that of 2004, with 58 new restrictions going into effect across the nation. “It’s a picking away at our freedom and privacy, legislature by legislature, law by law, with the ultimate goal of overturning Roe v. Wade,” said NARAL president Nancy Keenan, according to the Associated Press.
Eleven states were given “A”s: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
