Ohio GOP Moves to Overturn Abortion Rights — Criminalizing Choice

By T‑Paine

In June 2025, Ohio Republicans introduced the “Prenatal Equal Protection Act,” a dystopian bill aiming to:

• Ban almost all abortions.
• Criminalize anyone involved—including pregnant people—with potential homicide charges.
• Strip out protections for contraception, IVF, miscarriage care—even IUDs and birth control pills—by declaring fertilized embryos as fully human from conception 1.

Undermining Voter Will

This bill directly undermines Ohio voters, who in 2023 approved a constitutional amendment protecting abortion, IVF, contraception, and miscarriage care with 57% support 2. Now GOP lawmakers are using a twisted "personhood" argument to override the public mandate 3.

Even IVF Isn’t Safe

Shockingly, the bill’s logic extends to embryos in IVF clinics. Under its language, discarding frozen embryos—standard medical practice—could be criminal. The proposed law treats embryo loss as equivalent to homicide 4. Contraception may also be swept up in the purge 5.

Beyond 'Heartbeat' Laws

This isn’t a repeat of the old “heartbeat bills.” It goes further, erasing a wide range of reproductive freedoms—including invasive birth control, abortion after trauma, or IVF failures. Even conservative anti-abortion groups oppose it 6.

What This Means for Ohioans

This bill is about control. It treats women and pregnant people as second-class—criminal by default. It ignores voters, medical standards, and personal autonomy. It is fascism through law.

If passed, survivors of rape or medical emergencies could be jailed. IVF clinic staff could face prosecution. Politicians may invoke state tyranny as “equal protection”—a twisted logic built to overthrow democracy in small states like Ohio.

This is more than policy. It’s ideological warfare. And it’s happening here. Right now.

They think they can silence you with county lines and state authority. But you're the majority. Let that be scary for them.