Ohio

Ohio state lawmakers are pushing to enact legislation that prioritizes local health providers over Planned Parenthood and redirects taxpayer away from health services provided by abortion clinics.

The bill, introduced Tuesday, would restrict abortion clinics' access to state funding and is the latest attack against abortion providers in the state. Ohio lawmakers have already put forth a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks, providing that a doctor determine the fetus is viable outside of the womb. The measure was approved in the state Senate Wednesday.

The state Senate is also considering a heartbeat bill that bans abortion once a heartbeat is detected. more >>

A same-sex custody battle in Ohio ended on Tuesday, with full and exclusive rights granted to the biological birth mother and not her partner.

Justices ruled in a 4-3 decision that biological mother Kelly Mullen did not agree to share legal custody of her daughter Lucy with her former partner, Michelle Hobbs, even though Hobbs was named a co-partner on several medical documents and recognized as a parent “in every way.”

Mullen signed health care power of attorney documents and also nominated Hobbs as the child’s guardian in a will. Hobbs also helped financially support the child starting from the in vitro procedure and acted as a parent throughout the relationship. more >>

Divine love is powerful. It’s the only source that can make a hopeless dead person want to live again. –Brian “Head” Welch, on Twitter this week

It’s fitting that former Korn guitarist Brian Welch will take the stage this weekend in Mineral City, Ohio, to play at a Christian music festival called Alive Fest. His Twitter tag line explains why: “Used to be dead ... now I’m alive.”

Welch left one of the most successful metal groups of his era in 2005 after becoming a Christian. His conversion to Christ is well documented in his books, Save Me From Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story, Washed by Blood: Lessons from My Time with Korn and My Journey to Christ and his newest release, Stronger: Forty Days of Metal and Spirituality. more >>

As news spread Monday about the resignation of Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel, Ohio residents had mixed reactions.

Mansfield resident Russ Kinsey called Tressel, who compiled a 106-22 record in 10 seasons at the university and won the 2002 BCS national title game against Miami, “an honorable, Christian man” in the Mansfield News Journal.

“He tried to protect [his players] as a parent would their own children,” Kinsey said. “Consequently, he had to lie to do so. I think some of his players took advantage of Tressel and in turn it cost Tressel his job.” more >>

Being gay is a gift from God, asserts one church in Ohio.

That’s the message that Central United Methodist Church is spreading throughout their community via a digital billboard, launched on Monday.

This “simple statement,” the church announced, is “intended to be a gift to those who have experienced hurt and discrimination because of their real or perceived sexual orientation.” more >>

An Ohio megachurch will give a free home to a lucky and needy family who attends its Sunday Easter service this year.

The Church on Strayer in Toledo, Ohio, says it is doing so because that is what Jesus would do in such tough economic times.

“The reason we tied it to Easter is that Jesus gave his life at Easter and we figured we should give at Easter,” said Pastor Tony Scott of The Church on Strayer, to The Toledo Blade. “We have always been a very generous church, and we are always giving to the community. To give a house was the most logical next step.” more >>