On Sunday night, Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed into law some of the most restrictive anti-choice measures in the country, including requiring that women seeking an abortion undergo costly and medically unnecessary ultrasounds, mandating that physicians give a pre-written anti-choice speech to women seeking abortions, preventing rape crisis centers from counseling women on abortion options, and dramatically cutting funding for Planned Parenthood and redirecting some of that money to anti-choice “crisis pregnancy centers,” and even redefining pregnancy.
The bill also includes a requirement that all abortion providers have formal “transfer agreements” with local hospitals…but bans public hospitals from signing these agreements. This transfer agreement provision is a classic TRAP (Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers) law, meant to place such unnecessary and burdensome requirements on abortion providers that they are forced to shut their doors.
Generally, anti-choice activists defend TRAP laws by claiming that they are merely looking out for women’s health and safety. But in an interview with the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins yesterday, Ohio Religious Right activist Phil Burress admitted that the goal of Ohio’s new law is in fact to force abortion clinics “out of business.”
Perkins, recognizing that Burress had strayed from the anti-choice movement’s talking points, tried to get things back on track by insisting that “these agreements are generally good health practices.”
Burress: Not only did we pass pro-life legislation, but in Ohio $1.4 million in federal money that will be diverted from Planned Parenthood to many of the crisis pregnancy centers.
Perkins: That means President Obama’s going to have to go out and do another fundraiser for Planned Parenthood.
Burress: Exactly. They’re reeling, aren’t they, they’re really hurting for money. But, you know, $1.4 million is a lot of money, but in terms of the amount of money that Planned Parenthood spends, it’s a drop in the bucket. It’s a statement. And we praise Gov. Kasich and the Republicans that put this through. And they also have passed legislation called a transfer agreement, that every abortion clinic has to have a transfer agreement with a hospital, but they are prohibited from signing one with a public hospital. So we can put pressure on hospitals to not sign agreements, and we may see some abortion clinics go out of business.
Perkins: Yeah, and these agreements are basically good health practices.
