Legislation Watch

Unfortunately we are going to see a lot of challenges to individual rights this fall beginning with Ohio's Abortion Ban House Bill 598 Gov. Mike DeWine expressed support for additional legislation depending on the details of the Dobbs decision.

Rep. Jean Schmidt, R introduced HB598 - would make abortion a fourth-degree felony; promotion of abortion, a misdemeanor offense. Civil lawsuits could also be filed against physicians who perform abortions, under the bill, and medical licenses could be at risk. article here 1 , article here 2

Rep. Jenna Powell introduced House Bill 480 - A total abortion ban, this allows anyone — including anti-abortion protesters who have no connection to the patient — to act as paid bounty hunters and take doctors, health centers, and anyone who helps another person access abortion to court and get no less than $10,000. article here 1 , article here 2

Rep. Mike Loychik and Jean Schmidt introduced House Bill 616 - Aims to redefine “the promotion and teaching of divisive or inherently racist concepts in public schools.” Also prohibits any instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity for children's grades kindergarten through three. This bill would require the school system to report its suspicions of a closeted LGBTQ child to the child's parents. House Bill 616 would also prohibit the teaching of an accurate history. article here1 , article here 2

Rep. Jena Powell and Reggie Stoltzfus introduced House Bill 61 - Bans transgender girls and women from participating in high school and college athletics. It also comes with a “verification process” of checking the genitals of those “accused” of being trans. There is only one transgender girl in the state that is currently participating in high school athletics, according to Equality Ohio and the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OSHAA). article here

Gun laws Ohio legislators are considering this General Assembly. There are 29 in total — 13 Republican-proposed, 16 Democrat-proposed. article here