The Ohio Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would require abortion providers in the state to either cremate or bury the fetal remains from an abortion rather than sending them to public landfills, which is the current practice.
Senate Bill 27 was sponsored by State Sen. Joe Uecker (R-Miami Township) and passed in a 24-7 vote.
“Final disposition of fetal remains from a surgical abortion at an abortion facility shall be by cremation or interment,” the bill states.
Additionally, it would give women who have abortions the right to decide “whether the final disposition will be by cremation or interment,” as well as the “location for the final disposition.”
“An abortion facility shall develop and maintain a written list of locations at which it provides or arranges for the final disposition of fetal remains from surgical abortions,” the bill adds.
After its passage, Uecker said the bill “takes steps to help protect the dignity of babies whose lives ended too soon as a result of abortion.”
“Sending dead babies to be cold-heartedly discarded into landfills further demonstrates the total lack of respect for the sanctity of human life that is shown,” he continued. “I also hope to see the recently passed heartbeat bill signed into law quickly so that we have fewer fetal remains to humanely dispose of.”
Ohio Right to Life spokeswoman Jamieson Gordon said she was “thrilled to see this important legislation pass in the Ohio Senate.”
“Aborted babies deserve to be treated with dignity in their death, and that is exactly what the Unborn Child Dignity Act seems to do,” she said. “This simple clarification of Ohio law will give women greater informed consent and ensure that unborn children are treated with the respect that every human person deserves. We are thankful for the leadership of pro-life Senator Joe Uecker and the Ohio Senate. We hope that the Ohio House will move quickly on this compassionate piece of legislation.”
Senate Bill 27 will also impose a number of informed-consent rules on abortion providers, such as requiring a physician to meet with the pregnant woman in person and describe “the nature and purpose of the particular abortion procedure to be used and the medical risks associated with that procedure.”
The full bill, which now heads to the Ohio House for consideration, can be read here.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Ohio Statehouse” by Ohio Statehouse.
