Ohio House lawmakers passed a pro-life bill Thursday to require that aborted babies be buried or cremated rather than thrown into the trash.
The Springfield News-Sun reports the Unborn Child Dignity Act, state Senate Bill 27, passed by a strong majority in a 60-35 vote.
The legislation requires the Ohio Department of Health to establish rules for the proper and humane burial or cremation of unborn babies who are killed in abortions. Such laws not only ensure that aborted babies’ bodies are treated with dignity and respect, they also are a safeguard against abortion facilities that may be trying to sell aborted baby body parts.
“Whether pro-life or pro-choice, everyone should be able to agree that the bodies’ of babies should never be thrown into the trash,” said Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life. “The unborn victims of abortion deserve the same basic decency that we afford to all humans: a dignified burial.”
Gonidakis said the legislation is necessary until the Supreme Court allows states to protect unborn babies from abortions once again.
“Although we look forward to the day when we no longer have to lay to rest the broken bodies of Ohio’s abortion victims, we are proud to say that our state has taken another step towards recognizing not only the humanity of the unborn, but of ourselves as well,” he continued. “Human decency requires that we treat every member of our human family with respect, something that, even in death, the innocent unborn will now be afforded.”
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He thanked former state Sen. Joe Uecker for leading the effort to pass the pro-life legislation.
Pro-abortion groups lobbied against the bill, claiming it would just shame women and abortion workers. NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Executive Director Kellie Copeland argued that the legislation could “put lives at risk” by limiting access to abortion – even though abortions do not save lives, they destroy them.
State lawmakers introduced similar legislation in 2015 after the release of undercover videos in which top officials at Planned Parenthood were caught discussing the trade of aborted baby body parts. Later, the Ohio Attorney General’s office discovered that Planned Parenthoods in Ohio contract with waste disposal companies that deposit the remains of aborted babies in landfills.
Neighboring Indiana passed a similar law when Vice President Mike Pence served as governor and later won a victory at the Supreme Court in 2019. According to testimony, the Indianapolis Planned Parenthood facility was disposing of aborted babies down a drain into the sewer system before the law went into effect.
