Only some heartbeats count.

Well, that didn’t take long.

Just a week after the election, the so-called “heartbeat” bill has passed the Ohio house and is headed for our state Senate.

If they were truly concerned about the health of the unborn with heartbeats, they would be more concerned with getting healthcare to the born who have heartbeats.

Of those women who become pregnant every year in the United States 13 percent are uninsured, resulting in severely limited access to prenatal care. According to Children’s Defense Fund’s website, “Almost one in every four pregnant Black women and more than one in three pregnant Latina women is uninsured, compared with one in nearly seven pregnant White women. Without coverage, Black and Latina mothers are less likely to access or afford prenatal care.” Currently, pregnancy is considered a “pre-existing condition,” making it much harder for uninsured pregnant women to actually be able to afford private health insurance.

Nevermind that a heartbeat is an awful measure of when life begins (or ends).  Nevermind that these anti-abortion activists are more interested in legislating their worldview than actually effecting social change.  They have already shown through their actions (back in 2017) that it’s not about kids or their health.

If they were really as “pro-life” as they claim, then they’d support universal health care.  They’d support comprehensive sex ed.

Instead, it’s just about forcing women to give up control of their bodies.