Advances in Alabama, Arkansas, and Ohio
by Anne Roback Morse
Population Research Institute
Heartbeat legislation, which places restrictions on
abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, continues to move
forward. The month of March has been particularly busy. The Alabama
House of Representatives passed heartbeat legislation, while a heartbeat
bill was reintroduced in the Ohio state Senate. And while a federal
judge struck down portions of the Arkansas heartbeat bill, he let stand
the provision under which mothers would be informed that their baby’s
heart was beating before an abortion was performed.
Here are the details:
Alabama
The Fetal Heartbeat Act, HB 490, passed the Alabama House
of Representatives on March 3rd with 73 votes in favor of the bill and
29 votes against.
During the debate on the House floor, Alabama
Representative Alvin Holmes argued that white Republicans should support
abortion, claiming “99% of those of you sitting in here now, if your
daughter got pregnant by a black man, you’re going to make her have an
abortion. You’re not going to let her have the baby. You’re not going to
have any little black baby. If she got two other white children—she’s
not going to have a little black baby running around there, in the
living room, around the den with the rest of them. You’re not going to
let that happen. You know that, and I know that.”
His comments were quickly condemned by African-American
pro-life leaders.Tijuanna Adetunji, an Alabama native running against
Holmes this November, rebuked Holmes: "Pro-life is loving babies whether
they're inside the womb or outside of the womb, whether you're black or
white. It doesn't have a color."
The Fetal Heartbeat Act now awaits a vote in the Alabama Senate before it can be signed into law.
Arkansas
The Arkansas fetal heartbeat bill passed both houses,
overrode a gubernatorial veto, and became law last year. A federal judge
on March 14th struck down the portion of the legislation that would ban
abortions after a heartbeat was detected. At the same time, he upheld
the portion of the bill that requires the abortionist check for a
heartbeat and to notify the mother if one is present before proceeding
with the abortion.
Ohio
Ohio State Senator Kris Jordan reintroduced heartbeat
legislation in the Ohio Senate on March 13th. The bill now awaits action
in committee.
Population Research Institute has collected over 31,000
signatures in support of heartbeat legislation. Steven W. Mosher,
president of Population Research Institute, explained that “By
highlighting this particular part of an unborn baby’s humanity—their
heartbeat—we hope to rouse the desensitized conscience of a nation to
the plight of our most vulnerable brothers and sisters.”
You can see the legislative history of the other six states
which have introduced heartbeat legislation and sign the petition in
support of heartbeat legislation at http://pop.org/campaign/land/
None of the bills would punish mothers who abort after a
heartbeat is detected. Most women who show up at abortion centers are
there under some form of duress, whether it is social, financial, or
emotional. The real war on women, PRI observes, is abortion itself.
The
pro-life Population Research Institute is dedicated to ending human rights
abuses committed in the name of "family planning," and to ending
counter-productive social and economic paradigms premised on the myth of
"overpopulation." Find us at pop.org.
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