Democrats in the Ohio House of Representatives say they want to strengthen rights established in the reproductive rights amendment to the Constitution in anticipation of eliminating some state laws restricting reproductive health.
State Rep. Dr. Anita Somani, D-Dublin, and fellow Republican Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, D-Gahanna, also want to utilize the novel rules in response to the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling that found that frozen embryos used for in vitro fertilization be considered persons , from whom you can claim civil compensation in the event of damage or destruction of the embryo.
Alabama’s own legislature adopted a law ordering the resumption of the trial after the judgment is issuedbut uncertainty remains, Ohio Democrats say.
“The Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling against in vitro has shown us that religion, law and science should not be confused when it comes to protecting patients and doctors,” Somani said at a news conference Wednesday.
House Bill 502a novel law proposed by Somani and Piccolantonio would provide doctors with “clarity” and protection when working with in vitro fertilization patients. Piccoloantonio said the bill “precludes civil, criminal and professional disciplinary proceedings for claims for bodily injury or death of any human reproductive material as an unborn human being.”
The bill’s language would also control the “collection, storage, use, and disclosure” of any “assisted reproduction or donor information” by entities including other states and law enforcement agencies.
Citing CDC data, Piccolantonio said there were 2,226 births in Ohio resulting from in vitro fertilization treatment, representing 1.7% of all births in 2021.
The co-sponsor also said HB 502 addresses the issue of “religious liberty” by not regulating practices based on one moral ideology over another.
“In my Jewish faith, an embryo is not immediately a person, which is why in vitro fertilization is an acceptable and even recommended way to expand a family,” she said at a press conference announcing the draft bill. “Similarly, if your religion disagrees with this practice, that is perfectly fine, but as state legislators we have no right to impose such views on all Ohioans.”
Piccoloantonio brought his former colleague Kara Coates, who underwent in vitro fertilization twenty years ago, to the press conference. These treatments gave her 21-year-old twin daughters.
Coates said she wants to make access to IVF easier for families who want it, especially since the IVF process itself already comes with physical and mental challenges.
Having to pause the process, whether for medical or legal reasons, “restarts the stress, resumes the depression, resumes the whole process depending on when the interruption occurs,” Coates said.
Both Democratic sponsors stressed that lawmakers should not be involved in conversations about the reproductive decisions of individual Ohioans.
“Our role should be to support legislation that continues to improve society, whether that is reproductive health, environmental health, public education or public health,” Somani said.
But with HB 502, sponsors hope to be proactive in enacting the full force of a constitutional amendment on reproductive rights.
“There are a lot of laws that impede access to health care that need to be addressed before we can simply say that a constitutional amendment on its own is enough,” Somani said, referring to requirements for a 24-hour waiting period and an ultrasound before an abortion and Ohio law’s six-week abortion ban, but upheld in court.
Infertility treatment was specifically covered in a state constitutional amendment approved by 57% of voters last November, along with topics such as abortion and miscarriage treatment.
The co-sponsors admitted they have not yet selected a Republican co-sponsor for the bill. Republican support will be crucial to the bill’s success under the current GOP majority.
Somani and Piccolantonio said they hoped the committee hearings would give lawmakers information about the bill that would persuade them to join.
“This kind of bill is as pro-life as it gets,” Somani said. “It’s pro-family and pro-child, so I think it’s important to reach for it across the aisle.”
Ohio legislative leaders have dismissed concerns about the fate of in vitro fertilization in Ohio, but so-called personhood bills have been introduced in the past and are not ruled out in the future.
HB 502 has not yet been assigned to a House committee. Once assigned, public hearings can begin.
