Controversy Erupts Over Republican Push to Ban Abortion

Lost in the hubbub following Governor Kasich’s State of the State speech last week was a controversy that erupted in the Ohio House over the Republican push to ban abortion.

Dr. John Willke, the Cincinnati physician who founded the International Right to Life Federation, was invited to address the chamber from the Speaker’s dais in what critics claim amounted to lobbying for the controversial “Heartbeat Bill.” Earlier in the month, two fetuses were accompanied by their mothers to testify in favor of the bill, and God is expected to be called forward in the coming weeks.

This article appears in Mar 9-15, 2011.