Columbus, OH – Today, Ohio lawmakers from both chambers introduced legislation that manipulatively interweaves two civil liberties issues: reproductive freedom and capital punishment. The bill, co-sponsored by Senators Antonio and Steve Huffman and Representatives Mathews and Schmidt, with support from the Ohio Catholic Conference, purports to repeal Ohio’s death penalty, but includes two overtly “pro-life” provisions that attach unrelated objectives to the policy. Although the legislation is centered around prohibitions against lethal injection drugs used in executions, the bill would ultimately deny funding for abortion medications, in violation of Ohio’s Reproductive Freedom Amendment, and also restrict Ohioans’ access to death with dignity.
The following statement can be attributed to ACLU of Ohio Legal Director Freda Levenson and ACLU of Ohio Policy Director Jocelyn Rosnick:
“We are very disappointed by the legislative manipulation at play here. This new bill promises, but then intentionally deviates from, good or wise policy. In the past two general assemblies, we’ve seen broad, bipartisan support to abolish capital punishment. Moreover, polling shows that a majority of Ohioans support repealing the death penalty and replacing it with a life sentence for murder without the possibility of parole. Our organization has maintained an anti-death penalty stance since our founding, but this ‘bait and switch’ bill is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, slyly designed to limit how public funds can be used for abortion care and coverage. Furthermore, supporting death with dignity is a longstanding ACLU principle. This proposed legislation violates the Ohio Constitution by deliberately undercutting the Reproductive Freedom Amendment. Should this bill pass, litigation is not off the table.”
The ACLU of Ohio opposes this legislation and urges the Ohio General Assembly to introduce a clean death penalty repeal bill that solely focuses on abolishing capital punishment in Ohio.
