In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that a woman has the right to have an abortion as found within the right to privacy (first recognized in the case Griswold v. Connecticut) and protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. They declared that as long as the fetus is not “viable” outside the womb (the first trimester) a woman could have an abortion and even into the second and third trimesters would still have this right — weighed only against different levels of state interest.

Today, anti-choice groups around the country are rapidly leveling their attacks against this decision through personhood legislation. This week, however, the most intimately invasive legislation resurfaced in the Ohio Senate — House Bill 125 or the “heartbeat bill”. This bill would ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected. This usually occurs around six to eight weeks — before a woman often knows she is even pregnant. An exception is made for the life of the mother but none is given for rape or incest. The bill passed the Ohio House on June 28th, 2011, and was moved to the Senate Health Committee this week. If it passes the Senate, it is very likely that governor John Kasich will sign it into law.

This an all-out attack on women’s rights and the most intimate right a person has to control what happens within one’s own body. In passing this legislation the Pro-Life movement not only is able to legislate what an individual can do with their own body but also what legal procedures a doctor can perform on their patients. One of the most blatant stabs at doctor patient confidentiality, this bill would discourage even legal pre-heartbeat abortions when the cost of violating the law is so great. Not only would doctors who perform abortions violating the law be fined and lose their medical license, but they would also be charged with a felony.

This most intimate violation of privacy is also blatantly unconstitutional and will create many expensive lawsuits that will drain already low tax revenue. Currently abortion is a legal procedure although there is no federal funding for it. Not only that but the Supreme Court has ruled that having an abortion is a right inherently found in the Constitution of the United States. The Court has also been consistent about upholding viability as the threshold for abortions. In fact, the Ohio Right to Life and the Ohio Catholic Conference refuse to support this legislation because of the legal setbacks it will cause if it is passed — possibly leading to a reaffirmation by the Supreme Court that these laws as well as others are unconstitutional.

What can you do about the heartbeat bill? There will be a Senate Hearing tomorrow, Wednesday the 7th. Senator Oelslager, Chairman of the Senate Health Committee, should be getting a deluge of phone calls explaining the poisonous consequences of this bill. Call the Senator at 614-466-0626. Remember, what happens in Ohio will set the precedent for other heartbeat bills being introduced in states like Kansas.

This legislation will not only be affecting woman receiving abortions but also all individuals with wombs whose very bodies are being controlled by the choices the Ohio government is making today! So make some NOISE and stand up for your fundamental rights as citizens and women!!!