Ohio legislators pledge anti-abortion measures at March for Life

Standing united, a group of Republican legislators attended the anti-abortion March for Life on Wednesday at the Ohio Statehouse.

State Rep. Jena Powell, R-Arcanum, was the only one to speak at the event, but she made it clear that Republicans in the General Assembly plan to press forward with measures to completely ban abortion.

“This is how we move forward in a pro-life manner and abolish abortion in our state,” Powell said.

She said the “science is crystal clear” that “life begins at conception,” despite the fact that medical professionals, among others, are divided on the definition of when life begins.

Standing behind her in support were state legislators including:

• Rep. Adam Bird, R-New Richmond
• Rep. Riordan McClain, R-Upper Sandusky
• Rep. Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield
• Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland
• Rep. Timothy Ginter, R-Salem
• Rep. Brian Baldridge, R-Winchester
• Rep. Jennifer Gross, R-West Chester
• Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus, R-Paris Twp.
• Rep. Marilyn John, R-Richland County
• Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton
• Rep. Susan Manchester, R-Waynesfield
• Rep. Mark Johnson, R-Chillicothe
• Rep. Tracy Richardson, R-Marysville
• Rep. Tom Young, R-Washington Twp.
• Rep. Rodney Creech, R-West Alexandria
• Rep. Darrell Kick, R-Loudonville
• Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery
• Rep. Nino Vitale, R-Urbana
• Sen. Sandra O’Brien, R-Ashtabula
• Sen. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon

State Rep. Derek Merrin, R-Monclova, and state Rep. Adam Holmes, R-Nashport, were introduced at the event but did not appear on stage.

Powell pushed for the passage of a life-at-conception piece of legislation. Fellow march attendee, Rep. Click, is sponsoring just such a measure, House Bill 704, also being called a “personhood” bill.

“The shackles are no longer holding us back as state legislators, and we can and we must be a voice for the unborn child in Ohio,” Powell said.

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This story was republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license.