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The “Heartbeat” bill is still waiting to see legislative action in the Ohio Senate, but the group Ohio ProLife Action is taking a proactive approach to speeding up the legal process. This week they released a new ad urging the Ohio Senate to send the bill to committee, and to do it quickly.
The 30-second spot is fairly simple: A school bus pulls up to a bus stop where two children are waiting. As they board the bus, a voiceover begins by saying the passage of the bill “will save the equivalent of a school bus full of children every single day.”
Images of children on a school bus are shown as the ad progresses. At the bottom of the screen these words appear: “The Heartbeat bill will save 70 Ohio children every day.” The first commercial aired in Dayton and ends by asking people to call their senators, with the names and numbers listed on the screen. For the bill to pass, 17 of Ohio’s 33 senators need to vote “yes.”
The “Heartbeat” bill would outlaw an abortion at the first detectable fetal heartbeat. A heartbeat can usually be heard around six to seven weeks into a pregnancy. The law would also become the nation’s strictest abortion limit to date.
President of Ohio ProLife Action Linda Theis told The Christian Post that after the vote went through the House on June 28, winning 54-43, they immediately took it to the Senate. But the problem was there weren’t many summer sessions at which to present it. Plus, the Senate was working on other bills.
Now it’s become a waiting game. We want it “to get sent to committee because we know we have the votes, Theis said. “We are hoping to get it out before the end of the month.” With five more sessions scheduled for November, chances are good.
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But there has been a pushback from both sides of the aisle, with Ohio Right to Life reneging on its previous commitment to the bill. The pro-life group says the law will most likely be found unconstitutional because it would be too restrictive. Roe v. Wade prohibits states from banning an abortion until a fetus is viable, meaning usually around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Nonetheless, it has garnered support from top pro-life leaders, politicians and organizations. Some notable names include Dr. James Dobson of Family Talk and former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. Texas Governor Rick Perry also announced his support for the bill, joining two other presidential candidates, Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachmann.
“We’re grateful to Governor Perry for his strong support of the Heartbeat Bill. I don’t think there’s a bill in America with more support,” Faith2Action President Janet (Folger) Porter said in a statement.
The ads are currently airing in Dayton, with Columbus being the next stop, and a possibility of Cleveland in the future. Ohio’s Fox News cable channel is also showing the ads during the “O’Reilly Factor” and “Hannity.”
Theis said in regards to the ads already aired, there have been “a lot of positive responses from people that have seen it,” with many making phone calls to their senators. Ohio ProLife Action really just wants people to call and ask that their senator give it serious consideration, Theis said.
“We can’t afford to wait, every day we’re losing 70 babies in Ohio.”
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