Ohio House Introduces Legislation to Ban Sex-Selection Abortion
Ohio Joins Global Fight to Abolish Sex-Selection Abortion
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(COLUMBUS) – The Prenatal Non-Discrimination Act (PRENDA) was introduced today in the Ohio House of Representatives by Representatives Matt Lynch and Cheryl Grossman. This legislation would ban sex-selection abortion, the practice of terminating the unborn child based on gender. Globally, sex-selection abortion is most often targeted at unborn girls.
“The sobering reality is that babies are being aborted in our society because of their gender,” said Mike Gonidakis, President of Ohio Right to Life. “We’re not going to sit aside and permit this atrocity to go on in our state. This discriminatory practice defies the values of our nation and should offend those who have boasted to live in a society with established women’s rights.”
This legislation, recently debated with bipartisan support on the federal level, would make it an offense, punishable by up to five years imprisonment, to knowingly do any one of the following: (1) perform an abortion “knowing that such abortion is sought based on the sex or gender of the child”; (2) use “force or threat of force…for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection abortion”; or (3) solicit or accept funds to perform a sex-selection abortion.
“Protecting babies from sex-selective abortion should not be a partisan issue,” said Stephanie Krider, Director of Legislative Affairs at Ohio Right to Life. “We need to pass this legislation to defend the rights of unborn girls here in Ohio, for the dignity of women everywhere.”
India, China, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Switzerland and Germany all have laws in place to protect baby girls from gendercide. Based on the evidence provided by recent investigations performed by LiveAction, sex-selective abortions are taking place in the United States. Arizona, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Illinois have passed these laws as well.
Ohio Right to Life urges pro-lifers to support this legislation and join in defending the rights of women and their unborn girls.