Park River, North Dakota – Concerned Women for America (CWA) of North Dakota is deeply saddened by Gov. John Kasich’s veto of the Ohio “Heartbeat Bill” yesterday. His decision is extremely disappointing for those across our nation who have worked hard to pass legislation that recognizes life in the womb and his reasoning for the veto are preposterous. Gov. Kasich tries to justify his decision by suggesting the legislation would not pass judicial scrutiny. It is not his role to act as a member of the judicial branch. He should have signed this bill and let the judicial process play out.
Honestly, Ohio’s laws may be able to survive in the courts with President-Elect Donald Trump in the White House and the fact that he will be able to appoint at least one conservative justice. President-Elect Donald Trump has promised to place a pro-life justice in the seat vacated by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in February.
In North Dakota the fetal “Heartbeat Bill” was signed into law by Gov. Jack Dalrymple in March 2013. In July 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit blocked the bill and the case was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). SCOTUS denied hearing the case and let the decision of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals stand.
In January 2016, after an injunction of the North Dakota Heartbeat Bill, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, in its opinion encouraged SCOTUS to revisit this issue by stating, “Good reasons exist for the (Supreme Court) to reevaluate its jurisprudence,” and argued that both medical and scientific advances show the concept of viability is subject to change. It is unfortunate Gov. Kasich didn’t heed the advice of these justices and allow the judicial process to play out.
Instead, Gov. Kasich abandoned his 2015 pro-life platform statement, “The governor is a strong, consistent and committed believer in the sanctity of human life,” and supported science-deniers by his refusal to advance public policy scientifically supported by enormous advances in technology – technology that now allows us to view the miracle of the unborn child in the womb from conception.
Science has leaped forward since the Roe v. Wade decision over 40 years ago. It is time for us to recognize medical science and put an end to abortion on demand. At the least, for now, we must protect the life of a child with a heartbeat. CWA of North Dakota will not be silenced until the greatest civil rights battle of our generation is won for those in the womb. The heartbeat bill is one step closer to that goal.
Concerned Women for America is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization.