A new bill was introduced in the Ohio legislature last month, backed by the Ohio Catholic Conference, prohibiting state dollars from funding abortion, the death penalty or assisted suicide in the state. In addition, it abolishes the death penalty, replacing it with a life sentence without parole. This unique piece of legislation was introduced by a bi-partisan group of members of both the House and Senate in Ohio—including Senate minority leader Nickie Antonio—giving it a solid chance of moving through the process to become law.
One of the interesting facets of this legislation is its non-severability clause. This means that, if one piece of the legislation is challenged in court and found to be unconstitutional, the entire law would go away, not just the part of it that is challenged. This will discourage groups from attacking one piece of the bill, if they want another part to stay. So, by linking the prohibition of spending state dollars on abortion to a ban on the death penalty, it further protects and strengthens pro-life policies from future legal challenges.
Will Kuehnle, associate director for Social Concerns at the Catholic Conference of Ohio, said this about the bill:
Of every piece of legislation I’ve ever seen, whether the Catholic Conference has ever supported or been part of, this is, in some ways, the most patently Catholic. Whereas legislation will sometimes see one life issue or another – or one moral issue or another – as separated, the reason why I’m a Catholic is because I believe they’re all united in the person of Jesus Christ, and I think this bill sees that.
Representative Adam Mathews, a practicing Catholic and co-sponsor of the House version of the bill, made these remarks in the press conference:
It is about affirming that the state should not be subsidizing death…It should not be subsidizing ending human life no matter the form, no matter the circumstance. This legislation embodies a unity of purpose and resolves to protect that dignity for all human life from beginning to end.
The House version of the bill, HB 72, has been introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Committee. A companion bill will soon be introduced in the Senate.
You can stay up-to-date with this legislation on the Ohio Catholic Conference website at www.ohiocathconf.org.