Friday, January 20, 2006

The Right Gets Right Down To Work

I was just checking "Raw Story" this morning and found an article from the Cincinnati Enquirer about a May bill being revived in the Ohio State legislature to make abortion a crime. I can't imagine that this will pass. Probably the most relevant section defines person as follows:
(B)(1)(a) Subject to division (B)(2) of this section, as used in any section contained in Title XXIX of the Revised Code that sets forth a criminal offense, "person" includes all of the following:

(i) An individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association;

(ii) An unborn human who is viable.

(b) As used in any section contained in Title XXIX of the Revised Code that does not set forth a criminal offense, "person" includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association.

(c) As used in division (B)(1)(a) of this section:

(i) "Unborn human" means an individual organism of the species Homo sapiens from fertilization until live birth.

(ii) "Viable" means the stage of development of a human fetus at which there is a realistic possibility of maintaining and nourishing of a life outside the womb with or without temporary artificial life-sustaining support.

(2) Notwithstanding division (B)(1)(a) of this section, in no case shall the portion of the definition of the term "person" that is set forth in division (B)(1)(a)(ii) of this section be applied or construed in any section contained in Title XXIX of the Revised Code that sets forth a criminal offense in any of the following manners:


This construal of abortion as the killing of a "person" would produce an abortion law much more restrictive than any laws prior to Roe v. Wade because it does not acknowledge even what is commonly referred to as "therapeutic abortion."
Given the generally "way-the-hell-out-there" character of ultra-conservative Ohio legislator, Tom Brinkman, who has also made news by setting out to challenge to Jean Schmidt for her US congressional seat, it seems unlikely to me that this bill will pass.

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