The Ohio legislature is considering a bill that would make it illegal for a physician to abort an unborn child if the reason for the abortion is due to a diagnosis of Down syndrome.
The bill, called “The Down Syndrome Non-Discrimination Act,” was voted on in mid-June in the Ohio House Committee on Community and Family Advancement and was approved by a 9-3 bipartisan vote, now moving the bill for voting in the state’s House of Representatives. The House vote is expected to take place in September after the legislators return from the recess.
“We all want to be born perfect, but none of us are, and everyone has a right to live, perfect or not,” Mike Gonidakis, the president of Ohio Right to Life, told the New York Times. Ohio Right to Life helped to draft the bill. “You to go any supermarket or mall and see these families who just happen to have a child with Down syndrome, and they will tell you how fortunate they are to have those children. Pretty soon, we’re going to find the gene for autism. Are we going to abort for that, too?”
Should the measure pass, abortionists would be required to indicate that he or she had no knowledge that the pregnant woman was seeking the abortion solely because of a test result or diagnosis of Down syndrome in the unborn child. Abortionists who perform abortions with the knowledge that the woman’s sole intention for the abortion is due to a diagnosis or test result indicating Down syndrome in the child can be punished by six to 18 months in prison and revocation of his or her physician’s license.
Critics argue that enforcing such a law would be difficult, and that it violates private conversations between the doctor and the patient.
“These legislative proposals interfere with the doctor-patient relationship and exploit complicated issues that can arise during pregnancy in the worst way,” Kellie Copeland, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said. “Medical decisions should not be made in the Statehouse, they should be made in doctors’ offices based on sound medical science.”
However, most consider it likely that the bill will pass in the state, as many of the Ohio lawmakers are pro-life and endorsed by the National Right to Life Committee, and as John Kasich — Ohio governor and 2016 presidential hopeful — also shows a record of support for pro-life measures in the past.
Ohio would become the first state to implement such a law specific to Down syndrome should the measure pass. North Dakota passed a similar law in 2013 banning abortion if the operation was based on a diagnosis or potential for a genetic anomaly, or based on the baby’s sex.
Representatives David Hall and Sarah LaTourette are the two primary co-sponsors of the bill, with 18 other representatives joining them.
“While I make no effort to conceal my pro-life convictions, I firmly believe this bill is about discrimination, not abortion. Choosing to end an individual’s life simply because they are different, or might have Down syndrome, is discrimination,” LaTourette told Fox News. “There is simply no other way to look at it.”
