Abortion Trafficking Prevention Act Introduced in Ohio House
Legislation to close abortion trafficking loophole
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Katherine Franklin
DATE: Wednesday, March 22, 2017 PHONE: 614-547-0099 ext. 304
COLUMBUS, Ohio–Today, Ohio Right to Life’s Abortion Trafficking Prevention Act (H.B. 149) was introduced in the Ohio House by pro-life Representatives Margy Conditt (R-Liberty Township) and Bill Patmon (D-Cleveland). The legislation would prevent fetal tissue trafficking from taking place in Ohio. Federal law currently bans this practice, but a loophole allows tissue traffickers to compensate abortion clinics for services related to the trafficking of fetal tissue, including storage and transportation. This bill would make the exchange of any form of compensation for fetal tissue or organs illegal, and would make the activity a fourth degree felony. Twenty-three co-sponsors signed onto the bill.
“Ohio Right to Life intends to close every loophole that could possibly be exploited by the money-hungry abortion industry,” said Devin Scribner, executive director of Ohio Right to Life. “Currently, Ohio law allows abortion facilities to profit twice from a child’s death: First, for performing the abortion, and second, for selling the unborn child’s remains under the guise of other services. Abortion is inhumane enough without the added horror of fetal trafficking.”
Similar legislation has been introduced across the United States since 2015 when viral undercover videos exposed top officials at Planned Parenthood discussing the trade of aborted baby body parts. Ohio Right to Life took immediate legislative action in the wake of the scandal, introducing legislation to de-fund Planned Parenthood, and another bill to require the humane burial or cremation of aborted children, what is now the Unborn Child Dignity Act (S.B. 28). The Abortion Trafficking Prevention Act is the third legislative initiative to address the abortion industry’s actions.
“Reasonable people would agree that buying and selling an unborn child’s body parts is simply beyond the pale,” said Scribner. “As a state, we should have enough decency to protect the dignity of unborn children following an abortion. Ohio Right to Life thanks Representatives Conditt and Patmon for their continued leadership in our efforts to hold the abortion industry accountable and protect human life here in Ohio.”