'Abortion reversal' bill debated in Ohio House

Feb. 16—A bill in the Ohio House would require doctors to give medication abortion patients information on "abortion reversal."

House Bill 378 is sponsored by state Rep. Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield. It's aimed at women who opt for an abortion using the drug mifepristone, which blocks the hormone progesterone. Sponsors contend that a large dose of progesterone given soon after mifepristone can counteract the medication's effects, preventing an abortion if the patient has second thoughts.

Democrats on the Ohio House Health Committee, which held a first hearing on the bill Tuesday, noted that studies of abortion reversal's effectiveness, and of the woman's safety, have generally been small with results that were inconclusive or contradictory.

"We're threatening doctors with jail for not giving information that the government says is correct, in the face of what other professional organizations say," said state Rep. Beth Liston, D-Dublin, a doctor herself.

If the doctor providing mifepristone fails to give a patient the required pamphlet, the doctor could be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor for a first offense and a fourth-degree felony for subsequent offenses, Koehler said. The woman could also file a civil suit against the doctor for the fetus' wrongful death, he said.

"This bill helps ensure that a woman has all the facts to make an informed decision regarding her chemical abortion," said Mary Parker, director of legislative affairs at Ohio Right to Life, in a news release.

Koehler framed the bill as an expansion on Ohio's current informed consent law. The bill would require the Ohio Department of Health to publish a pamphlet on abortion pill reversal, and anyone performing a medication abortion to give that pamphlet to the patient 24 hours before the first dose, he said.

Seven states have similar laws, three more have just passed it, and four state are litigating the requirement, Koehler said.

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio denounced the bill, which it dubbed the "Medical Misinformation Act." The group said the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists does not recommend "medication abortion reversal," as not supported by the body of scientific evidence.

"Patients need medically accurate information, not state-mandated deception, pressure or shame," Aileen Day, Planned Parenthood director of communications, said in a news release. "This bill is a blatant attempt to deceive patients and push an anti-abortion agenda. People seeking abortion care need information based on research and science, not scripts dictated by politicians.."

Hospital visits

A bill mandating that hospitals let patients have visitors during a pandemic passed the House Health Committee 11-1 on Tuesday, potentially sending it to the House floor.

State Rep. Scott Lipps, R-Franklin, introduced House Bill 324 in May. The bill would make hospitals allow the same degree of access during a pandemic as during normal times, with some caveats.

Hospitals across Ohio have often limited visitation to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Under HB 324, unless a public health order prohibits it, hospitals would be required to allow in-person visits during a pandemic from "the patient's family, caretakers or clergy," plus lawyers and "other individuals providing care or companionship to the patient."

If a public health order is in place prohibiting visitors, hospitals still couldn't bar visitation if the patient's condition becomes terminal.

But those visits must be "conducted in such a way as to not endanger the health of hospital patients, staff or other individuals in the hospital facility," the bill says.

Under the bill, hospitals could require visitors to wear masks and take other "reasonable safety precautions," such as requiring prior screening for symptoms. They could limit the number of visitors to a patient at one time, but not down to one.

Guns in church

A bill to give civil immunity to people who shoot in self-defense or in defense of others while at nonprofit organizations such as churches had its first hearing Tuesday before the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee.

Senate Bill 266, sponsored by state Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, extends protections for concealed-carry permit holders and nonprofit groups that were created in a previous bill, Schaffer said.

He referred specifically to church members who carry concealed handguns, suggesting they might have to fire at someone attacking a worship service.

The bill gives civil immunity for injury, death or loss to person or property to the person carrying the gun and to the nonprofit organization, if the act occurred on the organization's premises or at an event it sponsored. It also applies to for-profit corporations that let nonprofit groups use their facilities.

Schaffer said the bill does not expand current concealed-carry laws or the locations concealed carry is allowed.