For Love of Liberty and Personal Responsibilty

My (overly long?) letter to the Editors of these Ohio newspapers.

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To the Editor

This week the Ohio House Health Committee held a hearing on HB 228, a bill that would completely outlaw abortion in Ohio. This bill is so reactionary and immoral that it would even make abortion illegal if it were to be performed to save a woman’s life or if she had gotten pregnant from a rape. It would even put a person in jail for 15 years simply for driving a woman to another state to get an abortion.

I am not a woman. I don't have the physical capacity to gestate a part of my body to viability. I may provide (one can go ahead and assume enjoyably) some DNA to get the occurrence initiated, but once it's started, it is up to her to allow the process of gestation to run it's course, or not. It is HER body; Not mine; Not anyone else's. My right over my DNA ends after I've made a decision to merge with hers. From that point forward, my right is to assure that her wishes are met and my responsibility hinges upon her decisions. MY decision has been made.

People who want control over this process within other people's bodies are morally irrational. They should either remain Publicly silent about such perverse desires, or seek psychiatric assistance to overcome them. If it is not your body, or you've not personally contributed, in open agreement as to the end results, then there is no conceivable reason for you to have any say in whether the process is terminated or gestated to the state of the birth of a new human infant.

If a human's religion tells them otherwise, then they are sadly out of luck. Our United States' Constitution prohibits our 50 individual States, and the millions of folk living here-in, from creating Laws which promote or inhibit religious ends. This injunction protects us all from the irrational - even if well-intentioned - desires of any group who would force others to live life according to their own beliefs, desires and superstitions.

Pregnancy is indeed New Life. It is life brought to viability due to a decision of the woman who is creating it. It is her right, and hers only, to decide whether or not to use her body to create that potential human being. This, like old age, is our fate as biological critters, regardless of whether we like or not.

Dislike or despise, or pity or ignore her, as you will. Having our feelings about it is the extent of our rights in regard to what occurs within her body.

Sincerely

Michael Bains
University Heights, OH

--
a personally evolving organism @ http://sillyhumans.blogspot.com

For science, God is not a valid category because God is by definition a reality beyond time and space and therefore does not belong to the world of our scientific experience. -- Hans Kueng

In case you're interested but don't get NARAL's newsletter, here's what lead to my letter writing.

First I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who came down to the Ohio State house on Tuesday to show your opposition to the Ohio Abortion ban. Hundreds of Pro-Choice supporters packed room 313 in the Ohio Statehouse as well as the Atrium overflow room to show their opposition to this dangerous bill. We greatly outnumbered the supporters of the bill and it was a wonderful sight to see!

I wanted to let everyone know what happened at the hearing. The predetermined format was that the sponsor of the bill (Rep. Brinkman, R-Cincinnati) would be allowed to testify, followed by 2 panels (9 people) of anti-choice representatives speaking in favor of the bill, and then 2 panels (9 people) of pro-choice people speaking against the bill. After those panels, the speaker would open the hearing to public testimony. He set out ground rules saying that people would be limited to a "reasonable" amount of time on the panels, and 3 minutes for public testimony, and that he would limit the number of questions directed at each witness to 2 per committee member.

But, that was not what happened. Some of the anti-choice witnesses spoke for over 20 minutes, and committee members were allowed to ask question after question, even when they were just repeating themselves. So the panels did not end until well after 4:00 pm. After the panels only one person was allowed to speak, a representative from Ohio Right to Life. When she was done with her testimony (which lasted about 40 minutes including questions), Chairman White announced that since the hour was late (it was about 5:00 pm) and there were 60 people still waiting to testify he was closing the hearing.

Over 50 pro-choice people had traveled from all over the state to have their voices heard against this dangerous bill, and never got a chance to testify. The way that the hearing was run, was totally slanted in support of the anti-choice supporters of the abortion ban. This was especially obvious when the Chairman of the committee selected Ohio Right to Life as the only public testimony that it heard.

This summer is going to be a busy one. One thing was made completely clear in that hearing room. The majority of Ohioans are Pro-Choice, and the people that represent us do not represent our pro-choice views. We need your help this summer and fall to make sure that we elect pro-choice people so that our voices will be represented in Ohio's state government. Sign up to volunteer today and give your time to help us protect a woman's right to choose!

Currently, no further hearings are scheduled on the Ohio Abortion Ban. However, this legislation is likely to return during the lame duck legislative session in November and December after the election. We will make sure that we let you know what is happening on this bill and the other anti-choice bills that have been introduced in the Ohio House during this session. We will also keep you updated about the Ohio Prevention First Act, the real way to reduce the number of abortions in our state.

Thank you again for all of your help through this hearing process and please write a letter to the editor and sign up to volunteer today and help us protect the right to choose in Ohio.

For Choice,
Jaime Miracle
Outreach and Field Director