A new legislation from Ohio aims to ban abortion from fertilization as a means to protect the unborn.
Live Action News said Ohio's 2363 Act has the primary aim to "reduce the number of abortions in the United States from 2,363 each day to zero" to protect the unborn at fertilization. Live Action held an exclusive interview with Ohio Representative Jena Powell, who is one of the authors of the legislation.
As previously reported, Powell introduced Ohio's 2363 Act or House Bill 480 with co-Representative Thomas Hall to ban abortions in the state for pregnancies six weeks and beyond. Powell and Hall disclosed that the bill was actually patterned after the controversial Texas Heartbeat Act or Senate Bill 8, which allows any citizen to file a lawsuit against the medical professional or any individual who aided in the performance of the abortion.
Powell, who has 33 co-sponsors to 2363 Act, revealed that there are 20,000 abortions conducted annually in the State. Despite this, she pointed out that Ohio is basically a "pro-life state" as shown by the majority of their voters supporting a previously-passed Heartbeat Bill and the overall concern of citizens to "protect life in the process." She rebuked claims of the abortion industry that pro-life legislators are only concerned with the protection of the unborn.
"The state of Ohio gives tons of money to women, families, and children in our state. We continue to support pregnancy resource centers, we provide a lot of opportunities, whether it's struggling mothers or young children, in our state. Data would show us that those claims are untrue. And I understand why the pro-abortion movement wants to say that. But at the end of the day, the stats, the data, the knowledge, is on our side," Powell disclosed.
"Ohio is a more conservative state for sure, and Ohioans see that we not only support mothers and children, but also we're looking to protect life in the process," she emphasized.
Powell disclosed that the 2363 Act is a way to "move forward on pro-life issues" for the state since there are many who advocate life in it. She shared her own experience on being a pro-life having come from a big family. Her background actually prompted her to come up with such pro-life bills, such as the Heartbeat Bill that she was able to pass previously.
"As a woman legislator in our state, I believe it is crucial that we move forward on pro-life issues. I'm very, very passionate; I'm actually one of seven children. I've grown up in a household that protects life, and understands that abortion is wrong," Powell said.
"And so for me, being in the legislature, it was exciting to start working on crucial pieces of legislation. We already passed the heartbeat bill in my first term, and that said that at the time we can see a heartbeat, that child deserves life, and to be protected; that's currently being held up in the courts, but what I realized was, if we believe life begins at fertilization, then we have to continue moving the ball forward in protecting every life," she added.
Powell went on to explain that the 2363 Act was based from the Arkansas Unborn Child Protection Act and from similar legislation passed by other states such as Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Utah.
To strengthen pro-life efforts, Powell also founded the Ohio Pro-Life Caucus as another step of taking the "pro-life activism even further." The members of the Ohio Pro-Life Caucus believe that enacting legislation that supports and protects life coupled with increasing support for families, women, and children will end abortion in a dual approach.
Powell divulged plans of coming out with more pro-life legislation through the caucus such as those that would help pregnancy resource centers, help "hurting" families and mothers, and "everything" needed to "eradicating abortion holistically."
Live Action Founder Lila Rose, in a statement, showed support for Ohio's 2363 Act calling it the "beginning of the end" of abortion in the United States.
"The 2363 Act ensures that no child will be left behind to face the abandonment and violence of abortion. We must be absolutely fearless in our efforts to protect these children as well as their mothers and families from the predatory abortion industry. The 2363 Act is the beginning of the end of legally sanctioned abortions in America," Rose said.
Live Action launched previously a similarly-named campaign to eradicate abortion in the United States based on the number of abortions being performed in a day: 2,363. Abortion is the number one reason now in the country for child deaths.
