Friday Five

Barry Sheets, Legislative Consultant

September 27, 2019

 

We need to pray for courageous leadership among our elected officials.  

Now is not the time to rest on past accomplishments but to move forward to address many further issues.

 

NEWS AND VIEWS

 

1. Abortion provider Planned Parenthood is now looking to make even more money from abortion. They have been  petitioning the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove restrictions on the prescription and distribution of abortion drug mifepristone (RU-486) so that they won't have to pay an actual physician to prescribe the drug. Given they are rolling out an app-based order form for obtaining this human pesticide, and that many of the surgical abortion pits are now flipping to "chemical-only" because of the great work of pro-life advocates in tightening the laws around surgical abortion, this move is not surprising. However, members of Congress, including Ohio's own Congressman Bob Latta of the 5 ^th District, have issued a strong warning to the FDA to not move in this direction. Pray that our elected officials are successful in not only this, but potentially convincing the FDA to roll back the Obama-era approval of on-label use of mifepristone for abortions.

 

2. Speaking of the Congressman from Northwest Ohio, Rep. Bob Latta  late last week introduced the "Support and Value Expectant (SAVE) Moms and Babies Act of 2019." The bill would work to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the approval of new abortion drugs, to prohibit investigational use exemptions for abortion drugs, and to impose additional regulatory requirements with respect to previously approved abortion drugs, and for other purposes. This measure,  H.R. 4399 has the support of 35 co-sponsors, including Ohio Congressmen Steve Chabot and Bob Gibbs. It has been assigned to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on which Rep. Latta serves, Chaired by Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., (D) of New Jersey's 6 ^th Congressional District. Please pray for this bill's hearings, which are yet to be scheduled.

 

3. In the category of speaking sense into a Sensate Culture (HT to Harold O.J. Brown's great book on this topic), the Family Minister of Hungary, Katalin Novak, has clearly laid out the issue in stark terms. In an  interview, Minister Novak stated "There is no choice. If you already have a child in you, then what you do then is not a choice. That is not a moment for choice. The choice is before. Pro-abortion is pro-killing; it is against choice." This isn't surprising, as pro-family Premiere Viktor Orban has self-consciously directed government policies in Hungary to support family formation and development, favoring greater childbirth over mass migration. They have even offered bonuses of over $30,000 to married Hungarian couples who have three or more children. Their data shows it's working: marriages are up (20 year high); fertility is up (21 percent increase); abortions are down (30%). Perhaps Governor DeWine should pay a state visit to Hungary soon!

 

4. More speaking sense into a Sensate Culture: Pope Francis has also clearly laid out the issue of Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide.  Speaking to a conference of doctors over the weekend, Pope Francis warned of the dangers of this current push by the death culture: "There is no right to dispose arbitrarily of one's life, so no doctor can become an executive guardian of a non-existent right." We applaud Pope Francis for his thoughtful words, and hope that perhaps a campaign to have the medical profession return to the adherence of the  original Hippocratic Oath might be in the works.

5. If you have ever felt like the pro-abortion movement seems to be much smaller than the actual number of people who claim to be pro-abortion in polls, trust your feelings. An  expose by the Capital Research Center is showing that a dark money company, Arabella Advisors, has been creating "AstroTurf" groups (fake grassroots) to push hard for federal funding of abortions. Using front-group nonprofits, this abortion-favoring Dr. Caligari group has pushed for the overturning of the Pro-Life Hyde Amendment and to push government-funded birth control mandates. Pity them, as they are not mature enough to realize money will never beat a true dedicated grass-roots army of common citizens committed to ending the scourge of abortion on our nation.

 

 

PROFILES

 

Each installment of the Friday Five will bring thumbnail profiles of key policymakers. One statewide office holder or agency director, one Senator and three House members will be profiled each time

(see note at the bottom of this page) .

 

Ohio Supreme Court Justice R. Patrick (Pat) DeWine-a former Hamilton County Commissioner and member of Cincinnati City Council, Justice DeWine brings a rich and varied experience to the bench. In his first term on the state's highest court, DeWine has served on all levels of the judiciary, including a clerkship on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, four years on the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, four years on the First District Court of Appeals, and now on the Ohio Supreme Court. DeWine, an attorney by trade, is the son of Governor Mike DeWine. He is considered a conservative on the bench, strongly favoring judicial restraint and respect for the constitutional roles of the other co-equal branches of government. Justice DeWine has been part of the majority opinion on the cases related to Capital Care Network and Women's Med Center's license revocation by the state, siding with the Ohio Department of Health's position to take those licenses. 

 

Senator Terry Johnson-the most recent addition to the Ohio Senate is former State Representative Dr. Terry Johnson of Scioto County, who was sworn in on September 18th. Johnson was selected by a screening committee earlier this month to fill the unexpired term of departing Senator Joe Uecker of the 14 ^th Senate District, serving Adams, Brown, Clermont, Scioto and part of Lawrence Counties in southern Ohio. Sen. Johnson served in the House from 2011-2018 and was Scioto County Coroner and a senior Flight Surgeon with the Army National Guard. Since reaching term limits in 2018, he has served as the Director of medically assisted treatment and integrated health services at Valley View Health Centers in Waverly. He also served as an assistant dean at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he earned his doctorate. Johnson was a consistent vote for Pro-Life legislation in the House; he yet to be given committee assignments in the Senate as of this writing.

 

Representative Diane Grendell-the 76 ^th House District in Northeast Ohio (parts of Geauga and Portage Counties) is served by someone who is no stranger to the legislature. Rep. Diane Grendell, appointed earlier this year to fill the unexpired term of former Representative Sarah LaTourette, originally served eight years in the House from 1992-2000. Since then, Grendell served on the bench as a Judge of the Eleventh District Court of Appeals until her appointment to the House this year. Grendell, an attorney with her J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, has also served our country in the position of a Judge Advocate General (JAG) Officer in the Ohio Military Reserve. She is a Registered Nurse and Attorney with a Business and Psychology Degree. She serves on the House Aging & Long-Term Care, Criminal Justice, Criminal Sentencing Subcommittee of Criminal Justice and Health Committees. Grendell has been historically a Pro-Life vote during her tenure in office.

 

NOTE: These are the final members of the Ohio House and Ohio Senate (barring appointments) to be profiled in this series. Next week, we will begin profiling the Federal Congress and Senate. Later, we will profile the committees and special committees and their responsibilities.