Bill's backers send roses to Statehouse

2/17/2012

COLUMBUS -- Last month it was teddy bears. On Tuesday, Valentine's Day, it was 2,200 red roses, all designed to push the Ohio Senate toward passage of what would be the most restrictive abortion law in the nation. House Bill 125, sponsored by Rep. Lynn Wachtmann (R, Napoleon), would require a doctor to test for a fetal heartbeat and would prohibit an abortion if one is detected. That could occur as early as six weeks after conception.

"This is the largest rose delivery in Statehouse history," said Janet Porter, president of Faith2Action as she stood among dozens of roses in a Statehouse passageway. "Last year we had the largest balloon delivery in Statehouse history, but helium balloons aren't allowed in the Senate as it turns out, so we had a delivery of red roses."

Senate leaders were to receive a dozen roses while members of the committee in which House Bill 125 is held up are slated to receive eight dozen each.

Like the balloons and teddy bears that came before, the roses are the latest effort to bring pressure on lawmakers to bring up the "Heartbeat Bill" for a vote. The bill passed the House last year though it has divided the anti-abortion rights community in the state.

The bill's supporters have made no secret that they want to use the inevitable court challenge that would accompany such a law to give the U.S. Supreme Court a vehicle to overturn its landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision extending a woman's right to privacy to decisions over abortion.

Ohio Right to Life, however, has voiced fears that the high court could use the challenge to reaffirm Roe, potentially undermining their own gains in narrowing the window in which an abortion can be performed legally in Ohio.

The GOP-controlled Senate has made it clear it does not intend to resume hearings on the bill until after the March 6 primary election in which some legislative incumbents face opposition from pro-Heartbeat Bill candidates.

Last month a number of senators returned the teddy bears for fear they'd have to report them as gifts. This time, the group had individuals pay for each set of three roses to keep the cost under $25 per person. However, the cumulative cost of dozens upon dozens of roses per individual senator would far outweigh that.

Kellie Copeland, director of NARAL Ohio, said pro-abortion rights advocates will be ready when the Senate resumes hearings after the primary election.