Group backing ‘heartbeat bill’ to air TV ads
Backers of a ban on abortions at the first detectable heartbeat are rolling out billboards and TV and radio ads in Ohio’s major cities next week to spur state senators to take up the proposal.
Should the so-called “heartbeat bill” become law, it would impose the nation’s most stringent abortion limit.
The measure passed the Ohio House in June but has stalled in the state Senate, where it has yet to be assigned to a legislative committee.
Members of Ohio ProLife Action, a new statewide anti-abortion group that’s pushing the bill, have been meeting with state senators to try to address their concerns and get the measure moving through the Senate.
But with no commitment from Senate leaders on when they plan to act, the anti-abortion group’s president said the organization will begin airing 30-second television ads next week in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati markets. The ads feature state senators’ phone numbers in an effort to persuade viewers to call the lawmakers. The spot already has aired in Dayton.
“While we appreciate and agree with the Senate’s desire to make this the best bill possible, we continue to urge them to send the bill to committee where the process can be completed and sent to the floor for a vote,” Linda Theis, president of Ohio ProLife Action, said in a news release Thursday.
Ohio ProLife Action is spending “thousands of dollars” to air the ads, Theis said in an interview Friday.
The heartbeat legislation has divided Ohio’s anti-abortion community. Ohio Right to Life has taken issue with the proposal, fearing a legal challenge could jeopardize other abortion limits in Ohio and expand access to legal abortions.