Recordpub.com - Abortion law would give fathers a say State legislators propose change; opponents blast bill as 'extreme'

By Mike Hixenbaugh

Record-Courier staff writer

Several Ohio state representatives who normally take an anti-abortion stance are now pushing pro-choice legislation - sort of.

Led by Rep. John Adams, a group of state legislators have submitted a bill that would give fathers of unborn children a final say in whether or not an abortion can take place.

It's a measure that, supporters say, would finally give fathers a choice.

"This is important because there are always two parents and fathers should have a say in the birth or the destruction of that child," said Adams, a Republican from Sidney. "I didn't bring it up to draw attention to myself or to be controversial. In most cases, when a child is born the father has financial responsibility for that child, so he should have a say."

As written, the bill would ban women from seeking an abortion without written consent from the father of the fetus. In cases where the identity of the father is unknown, women would be required to submit a list of possible fathers. The physician would be forced to conduct a paternity test from the provided list and then seek paternal permission to abort.

Claiming to not know the father's identity is not a viable excuse, according to the proposed legislation. Simply put: no father means no abortion.

"I'm really pleased that this has been proposed for one reason - it draws attention to the fact that many men are concerned and care for their unborn children," said Denise Mackura, the director of the Ohio Right to Life Society. "You have no idea how many men call telling me about their girlfriends who plan to abort, asking what they can do to help her. They do want to help and they should have a voice."

With the proposal, men would be guaranteed that voice under penalty of law. First time violators would by tried for abortion fraud, a first degree misdemeanor. The same would be the case for men who falsely claim to be fathers and for medical workers who knowingly perform an abortion without paternal consent.

In addition, women would be required to present a police report in order to prove a pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.

As is the case whenever abortion is the topic, sharp opposition has come from members of the House, along with multiple activist groups. The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Activist League and the Ohio Right to Life Society have both spoken out against the legislation.

"This extreme bill shows just how far some of our state legislators are willing to go to rally a far-right base that is frustrated with the pro-choice gains made in the last election," said NARAL Pro-choice Ohio executive director Kellie Copeland. "It is completely out of touch with Ohio's mainstream values. This measure is a clear attack on a woman's freedom and privacy."

The proposal came less than two weeks after Rep. Tom Brinkman proposed legislation that would ban all abortions in Ohio. Brinkman, a Republican from Cincinnati, was one of eight representatives to co-sponsor Adams' bill.

With the recent liberal swing in Ohio state government, neither bill is likely to come to fruition. However, Adams' less extreme proposal has an outside chance of becoming law - a law that would have a major impact in Portage County and surrounding areas.

Portage has been among the leading Ohio counties in abortion-to-birth ratios since abortion was legalized in 1973. Since 1996, about 20 percent of Portage County pregnancies have been aborted - the seventh highest percentage in the state according to information from the Ohio Department of Health. The total comes to more than 4,300 abortions in 10 years.

Cuyahoga County has the highest abortion percentage with more than 30 percent of its residents' pregnancies being terminated. Summit County is also near the top of the list with a 21 percent termination rate.

Mackura doesn't think those numbers are likely to change anytime soon, though. Precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court indicates that, even if Adams' bill passed, it would likely be ruled unconstitutional by the courts.

"Simply taking a look at this as a possibility is a step in the right direction," Mackura said. "Pregnancy is a unique human condition and obviously a woman is affected differently than a man. As a woman, I can sympathize. However, to completely take rights away from the father is unfair.

"Currently, even in a marriage situation, a man has no right to even be informed of an abortion. But if a woman doesn't have an abortion, men sure have a lot of responsibility then. It's really not fair."

88.	Posted by s.swenson September 29, 2007
	News flash when you go to divorce cout the child support is made part of the order as well as the visitation schedule. It was ordered and so therefore the child support bureau, now called family services or something, has it on their books. Since at one time it was well over 30K, they take it on their own to clear it off the books. They also contacted me once when they took 5K out of his bank account. I had no clue, he actually told me first. Apparently each piece of correspondance they receive from child support says, they may garnish wages, take money from your bank accounts and also put a claim in for your IRS return, they told me this is considered "notice" for them. So besides our initial filing of the divorce, no I never took action to take him to court, every once in awhile the child support people send me a form for updated info and I fill in the blanks and mail it to them. I am aware that support and visitation are two seperate things, I've never been about the control either. By not making a big deal out of it I feel he had no control of me and no control of my financial destiny. I do not look down upon women who need to receive this support, I agree l00% they are entitled to receive it for the benefit of the kids, what I was saying it that if your ex or the childs father isn't Mr. Wonderful then don't let him to continue to hold you a financial hostage. It's tough out there but every month I've had friends who do the up and down and the huge let down because their ex decided to take a trip, buy something new and skip child support here or there, I think it makes a women stronger and less dependent on her ex and sets a good example is she can get to the point of survival for her and her children without it so that she doesn't have the stress each month. I know this isn't always possible. But I've heard women complain in front of their children (am not implying that you do or did) oh he didn't pay me child support they are gonna turn my phone off, I can't buy groceries etc, and I just think that whole issues needs to be seperate from the children. The whole issue gets ugly, do we ever really divorce the same person we married? not and its always unfortunate because in many ways the kids do suffer. Sorry if it appeared I was up on my high horse, re reading that I did appear to be up there a tad bit. I'm all about empowering women so they can be the best they can be, C'mon really in alot of cases it's the moms that hold it all together at the end of the day, the moms who make some huge sacrafices for the betterment of their children and the moms who in divorced situations carry the brunt of the parenting and expenses.

87.	Posted by Ravenna Ohio September 29, 2007
	Well most mothers do not count on the check if its inconsistant. I for one know that the money is for my children and is owed to them. I know the courts very well, what I dont understand is how is anything owed to you if you have never taken him to court? Also the IRS isnt going to send anything to someone else unless it is court ordered also, unless you had a support order how would you get his returns? Sorry just doesnt make sense. I NEVER have held visitations against my childrens father if he didnt pay me something. In the courts visitations and support are held as two seperate issues. Sometimes as mothers we tend to try to bare the whole entire burden on ourselves, it gives us full control and some cant take giving any up. I do not knock you doing it on your own, that is your choice but you seem to degrade or look down on women who demand that the men that helped bring these children into the world step up to the plate. Mothers opening a check and doing a happy dance, I might of got excited but only because Wow, now I can pay a bill, or go grocery shopping, or take the kids and buy them some things that I've been putting off. If thats the happy dance then I guess I was cutting a rug!

86.	Posted by s.swenson September 28, 2007
	Ravenna Ohio- No I did not marry someone who had to pay child support to someone else, but thanks for asking. I'm also owed over $20,000 at present in back child support. I made the decision that I wasn't going to spin my wheels and complain for lack of funds. I just worked smarter and can proudly say that I did it on my own. I figured if I became dependent on the child support it could wreck havoc in my life if I didn't get it and well I didn't get it but I refused havoc to be thrust upon me. At one point I could have terminated his parental rights, I chose not to play the control game. Occassionally now years later small amounts trickle in and reduce his debt. I never counted on it as part of my budget. Although ll out of l2 payments were never made, never did I withhold visitation and I was the bigger person for it, and I did it on my own. Instead of crying "victim" I chose to be a champion. I was a big enough girl to have children I was big enough to know when the relationship ended that it would primarily be my responsibility, emotionally and financially as well as physical custody and I accepted it. I didn't want to be another one of those people whinning about not receiving my support check, kids do overhear those things if we think they do or not. I've never filed anything with the courts and never chased him down for it, in time the balance will be paid. As far as the life time channel and it's movies no I don't spend my time there, I have living to do but as far as the non fairy tale lives and pregnancies, they do exist and check the welfare rolls and the publishings in the paper to the unknown father of child x y or z. Children out of wedlock has been on the increase, I haven't researched it but have recall on some articles pertaining to it. I'm all for child support on both sides the one raising the children should have the assistance, and the other should contribute. I just felt for me that getting hung up on that was going to hang my life up and keep me stuck. I quite enjoyed the challenge and am better for it. It took restraint on my part to never mention it to him in a snide way either, I figured it has to bother him more than I. I'm of a different mold maybe but I'm also a survivor. Moving on and moving forward. As a mother my children never heard me doing the money dance, and complaining due to the lack of it, or that their father wasn't paying it, I wanted to avoid the cheap shots. He had them coming but to make my children aware of it would be a cheap shot. The IRS now sends me his return each year for a couple of thousand and of course it would have come in much more handy then when they were smaller but I did it! Yes I did it and now I just tuck it away as a little extra to help with their college. I've told many friends going through a divorce with children to not count on the child support to make a budget that doesn't include it and then you'll never have to depend on it and when it does come it's only a bonus. With some men that's the only control they have after the divorce is dangling the money here or there, or showing off by buying things while not payig for their children. I've always threatened to write a book, a survival guide for single moms. Trust me the road wasn't easy it's far removed now and of course on this side now it probrobly looks easier then it actually was. But where there is a will there is a way. Maybe I'm a little more independent then some but I figured out ways to get through and am better off for it. I'm not making fun of you or your situation you had to go through with raising your children, it's tough, I so agree. I guess I just have motivation and I think people are capable of great things. At our weakest moments we become the strongest. It's unfortunate of all the divorces and the children caught in the wings of it, there are stories left and right on this topic and so many women struggling, I do get that. I will practice being more empathetic. In closing, I know many fine men who pay their child support and also buy things in addition for their children. There are some wonderful fathers out there that even though they are divorced they still have an active role, financially and emotionally in their childrens lives and please know I'm not picking on you guys.

85.	Posted by Ravenna Ohio September 18, 2007
	Number one, the issue here is not the actual abortion itself, guess what folks its legal. Its who has the right to determine it. One, Ohio Gal, do you ever watch the Life Time channel? Hummmm I dont think Ive seen to many women on any movie (might I add they are based on true stories) that met there soon to be husbands in a bar, eloped, then laid down with them and got knocked up! Ummm, not only in the movies do we see it but in real life that we see relationships that blossom, they seem like fairy tales, to good to be true, maybe even for years and then boom, something happens. Sorry but you act like every abortion is the result of some hussy shacking up with someone the night before. That is inside the box thinking. Also, you have lots of animosity about women collecting a child support check. Did you marry someone that has had to pay this, sounds close to home? If something like this has hit you close to home Im sorry but there are DESERVING mothers and CHILDREN that need that money! Like I've said before, I was with my ex since high school, he was homecoming king, scholarships offered out the rear, we were so in love! You could of never told me how my life would of turned out after 12years. I didnt want a CHECK, I wanted him to know that kids need new underwear and socks and by golly send some. Not every women is money hungry. I was never trying to get rich but a little help with things but that never happened so I had to take him to court. At court I only wanted 400.00 for 2 kids. I knew I made more then him, but he also lived with his girlfriend so they had 2 incomes and it was not fair that I sold the our computer so I could pay the money for my son to play football while the kids told me all about the Harley their dad was rebuilding. That is crap.

82.	Posted by lorcat August 29, 2007
	It is silly for male legislators to think they understand women or pregnancy. The wedge nature of this issue, is that conservatives think that pro-choice are anti-birth. Nothing could be further. think of the sexual-convenience culture of Hefner, easy nude dancing in near-mainstream bars,etc. Most usually men are the ones pressuring For the abortion, because it disturbs their world, or they have the natural denial and panic that is natural to males. Voluntary fathers have to fight this, and of course, can. I CHOse to have my babies, and it was difficult for all involved with me but they both turned out terrific and used the help available (in MInn and thru federal programs). It was not that expensive to the government either. I also worked and later married). The beauty of choice is that you can CHOOse to have your child if u are so motivated, even in the midst of a legal 2nd-rimester ab.- mill. Those counselors and nurses made sure that my wishes were followed not the man's. Part of anti-choice is their insistence on ignorance, both about conception and the options medically available. Also I would be curious under some of this legislation. exactly who it is that go to jail ,etc. These ignoramuses don't even have a clue what they want; they practice "silly-putty legislation"--throw some words against the wall and see what sticks. also I am concerned about the high (unwanted) pregnancey rate in this state--what could be going on??

80.	Posted by Lepidopteryx August 21, 2007
	ShootIt - When I realized I was pregnant with my daughter, it was six weeks after I had ended my realtionship with her dad. The first thing he did when I told him I was pregnant was propose. I refused. I told him that I had decided that I was going to have the baby, and that he had two options. If he wanted nothing to do with it, that was fine. I would not ask him for any financial or material support if he didn't want to be a dad. If he wanted to be a dad, that was fine with me as well, but I would expect support. He agreed that was fair, and decided that he wanted to be a dad. He and my daughter see each other whenver they want, and they have a great bond. (She's 17 now). I had an almost identical instance of bcp failure due to antibiotics. At the time, I was in a committed relationship (we had been dating for several years). I was also a full-time college student with a minimum wage retail job and my daughter was in pre-school. I was barely keeping the rent paid and groceries on the table. On top of that, at the time, I was taking meds for a neurological condition that were known teratogens. Stopping the meds at the time would have rendered me unable to care for the child I already had. I was in no position to take on the task of raising another child, especially one that was virtually guaranteed to have major birth defects. I had an abortion, and to this day, I beleive it was the best decision for all involved, including the fetus I aborted. Years later, I had similar issues to yours with a gynecologist and my then-husband over just whose body it was. I had been on D-P for years and could feel it wrecking my body. I decided that I was getting off of it, as well as any other hormone-based contraceptive. My then-husband had a cow when I told him he was going to have to go back to wearing a condom because I was no longer going to deliberately maintain a hormone imbalance to prevent ovulation. He thought that what sort of birth control I used should be OUR decision. One little hitch there - it wasn't OUR body being damaged, it was MINE. My ob/gyn tried to talk me into using other hormonal bc methods, so I changed doctors, and kept changing until I found one that respected my wishes regarding my health care. As for having a woman submit a list of every man she slept with who could be the father for paternity testing, I DON'T THINK SO. Talk about invasion of privacy, both hers and his. Ultimately, it's my body and my decision. The man to whom I am now married understands and respects that and doesn't chime in on my medical decisions unless I ask what he thinks. I give him the same respect. If there's something growing in my uterus that I don't want there, it's not going to stay there. I have told my daughter that if she gets pregnant before she finishes high school, then, as the person responsible for her medical care, I will insist on an abortion. Neither she nor her boyfriend are mature enough to be parents, and I have no intention of parenting grand-children. Of course, I've also taught her about safge sex practices.