The Ohio Personhood Act

From a pro-life perspective the Ohio Personhood Act would argue that this legislation offers several benefits in the pursuit of protecting the rights and lives of pre-born individuals. Here is a professional argument outlining these benefits:

1. Recognizing the Right to Life: The Ohio Personhood Act takes a significant step in recognizing and codifying the right to life for pre-born individuals from the moment of conception. This recognition aligns with the belief that every human life is valuable and deserving of protection under the law, regardless of their stage of development.
2. Legal Personhood: Granting legal personhood to pre-born individuals ensures that they are entitled to the same rights, privileges, and immunities guaranteed to all individuals within the state of Ohio. This means that they should be afforded the fundamental protections that every person enjoys under the Ohio Constitution.
3. Right to Due Process: By establishing that due process is required to deprive a pre-born individual of their life, the Ohio Personhood Act ensures that any decision to terminate a pregnancy undergoes thorough and careful consideration. This adds an additional layer of scrutiny to abortion procedures, emphasizing the gravity of the decision and potentially reducing the number of abortions performed.
4. Child Appointed Special Advocates: The provision for a Child Appointed Special Advocate for pre-born individuals is intended to act in their best interests. This ensures that the rights and well-being of the pre-born are represented in any legal proceedings related to abortion. This approach aims to provide a voice for the voiceless and protect their interests.
5. Protection of Reproductive Rights: Proponents argue that the Ohio Personhood Act actually extends reproductive rights to pre-born individuals by recognizing their potential future right to reproduce. Ending a pre-born individual's life, proponents argue, can be seen as a denial of their potential reproductive rights, which should be protected under the law.
6. Potential Reduction in Abortions: While the Ohio Personhood Act does not outright ban all abortions, it places significant restrictions on when and how abortions can be performed. The requirement for the opinion of three licensed obstetricians to save the life of the pregnant woman sets a high bar for justifying abortions. As a result, this legislation may lead to a reduction in the number of abortions performed, which aligns with the pro-life perspective of protecting pre-born lives.
7. Legal Remedies: The Act provides for legal remedies and enforcement by the Ohio Attorney General or immediate family members, ensuring that the law is upheld and that violations are addressed through the legal system.

In conclusion, proponents of the Ohio Personhood Act argue that it offers a comprehensive approach to recognizing and protecting the rights and lives of pre-born individuals. The law would not hinder anyone’s perceived right to an abortion in Ohio and would only focus on the rights of the Pre-Born. They believe that by codifying legal personhood, requiring due process, and ensuring legal representation for the pre-born, the act aligns with the pro-life stance of valuing and protecting all human life, including those in the earliest stages of development. Ultimately, they contend that this legislation can lead to a great reduction in abortions while upholding the principles of due process and legal representation. This would use the Ohio Reproductive Rights Act against itself from the perspective of the pre-born.

The Ohio Personhood Act

Section 1: Purpose and Intent

The purpose of this amendment is to recognize and protect the rights of pre-born individuals from the moment of conception as legal persons under the Ohio Constitution. The right to life for the innocent is self-evident and inviolate.

Section 2: Definitions

(a) "Pre-born individual" refers to any human being at any stage of development within their biological mother’s uterus, beginning at the moment of fertilization or conception.

(b) "Conception" or "fertilization" refers to the moment when a male spermatozoon penetrates the zona pellucida of a female ovum, resulting in the formation of a zygote or a single-celled embryo.

Section 3: Recognition of Personhood

Every pre-born individual shall be recognized as a person under the Ohio Constitution, entitled to the complete protection of rights, privileges, and immunities guaranteed to all individuals within this state. The pre-born shall have the same reproductive rights as individuals born and may not be deprived of those rights without due process. Abortion deprives and denies the pre-born of their right to reproduce by ending their life. Mothers shall be allowed to determine their pregnancy anonymously and such anonymous determinations may not be used in any Ohio court for any reason.

Section 4: Right to Life

(a)The right to life is inviolable. No law shall be enacted, and no action shall be taken that directly or indirectly terminates the life of a pre-born individual without due process, except as necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman in the opinion of three medical doctors who are licensed obstetricians whose practices are in good standing within Ohio.

(b) Mothers seeking an abortion irrevocably relinquish all rights to their pre-born child.

(c)The Ohio Attorney General shall be the Pre-Born’s Child Appointed Special Advocate, and the State of Ohio shall fund all operations to defend the rights of the pre-born.

Administrative hearings

(a) The Ohio Attorney General shall provide a process for administrative hearings for those mothers seeking an elective termination of their pregnancy.

(b) Determinations of administrative hearings to allow elective abortions upon proof of rape or incest and upon a verified report to law enforcement shall be considered due process and not in violation of any law. Such determinations shall not be made public.

(c) Determinations of administrative hearings to allow elective abortions without proof of rape or incest shall be considered due process and if termination is determined by three obstetriticians, who are licensed medical doctors in good standing in Ohio, to be before the tenth week of pregnancy shall be considered due process and not in violation of any law. Such determinations shall be public record.

(d) No abortionist may take the life of a pre-born child without due process.

(e) No abortionist shall take the life of a pre-born child without permission of the biological father unless the child was conceived through rape or incest.

Section 5: Exceptions

(a) This amendment shall not be construed to prohibit medical treatment, including contraception, that is intended to prevent the fertilization of an ovum or the implantation of a fertilized ovum.

(b) This amendment shall not be construed to restrict medically necessary treatments or procedures performed on a pregnant woman, provided that such treatments do not directly result in the termination of a viable pre-born individual's life.

(c) This amendment shall not prohibit the prescription of a "day after pill" by a medical doctor in the case of rape, incest, or upon failure of birth control as petitioned by the mother and the declared father.

Section 6: Enforcement

The Ohio Attorney General or any parent or immediate family member may bring legal action to enforce the rights and protections granted to pre-born individuals under this amendment. In such cases, the court may award appropriate relief, including injunctive and declaratory relief.

Section 7: Severability

If any provision of this amendment or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this amendment that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

Section 8: Penalties

Abortionists who fail to adhere to the provisions of this statute shall be guilty of a minor misdemeanor and fined $1,000 and shall be prohibited from providing abortions in Ohio and shall lose all professional medical licenses issued by the State of Ohio.