Court: Ohio can enforce ban on abortions after Down syndrome diagnosis

[Diamond_Dog]

COLUMBUS – Ohio's ban on abortions after a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome doesn't violate a woman's ability to obtain an abortion, a divided Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

The law, passed by Ohio's Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by GOP Gov. John Kasich in 2017, imposes criminal penalties on doctors who perform abortions if they're aware that a Down syndrome diagnosis, or the possibility of a diagnosis, is the reason for seeking the abortion. The penalty is a fourth-degree felony.

(snip)

The court ruled that a woman's right to an abortion is not absolute. Ohio's law, which prevents a doctor from performing an abortion because of a Down syndrome diagnosis, is not an undue burden on the woman, wrote Judge Alice Batchelder, who was nominated by former President George H. W. Bush.

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https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/2021/04/13/ohio-down-syndrome-abortion-ban-sixth-circuit-appeals/7204054002/

***** “Not an undue burden on the woman”?

[rso]

1. RSO

So much for Republicans’ claim of being supporters of “small” government”.

[hlthe2b]

2. So basically no abortions for women older than 35, since statistically it is well known the risk of

a DS birth increases for women 35 and older. Such abhorrent and ignorant BS.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. Even though the risk is much higher,

because most babies are born to younger women, I believe the majority of DS babies are born to younger mothers.

I personally know a woman whose first child, born when she was 29 or 30, had DS. Their next two children did not have it. I honestly have no idea if they knew ahead of time the baby would have it. Nor do I know if they did any prenatal testing with the other two.

[hlthe2b]

7. This issue is going after providers who supposedly know or should know DS is a likely possibility...

Thus, even without genetic prenatal testing, this will impact those providing abortion to those over 35, given the statistics. They WANT to go after providers and this gives them just the tool.

[Freddie]

3. DS can be diagnosed very early in pregnancy

And it’s none of their GD business why she’s getting an abortion.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. While I personally do not think I'd have had an abortion

had I known either time I was pregnant that the child would have Down syndrome, I was never faced with that situation. And I want to emphasize the word personally. This is what it needs to be about, a personal choice.

And I'm going to guess that not a single one of those judges has ever themselves been faced with that choice.

[leftieNanner]

6. I had two "Geriatric" pregnancies

That's what they call it when you are over 35. I had amniocentesis with both of them. A woman I knew was horrified because she assumed that if there had been a fetal abnormality discovered, I would automatically have had an abortion.

I calmly explained to her that nobody can know what they will do in that circumstance until they are faced with it. Having the test done just provides you with valuable information. From there each person must make their own choice.

Fortunately, I did not have to make that decision.

But it's nobody's business but the pregnant woman's.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

9. Exactly.

My first was born when I was 34, and my second when I was 38. I was offered amniocentesis with the second but declined. Again, a very personal choice.

[leftieNanner]

10. 38 and 41

The best part was, all the young mothers thought I was the same age!

My husband got lots of props for being a good guy taking his Grandchildren to the park!!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. There's a lot to be said for being an older parent.

[elleng]

15. I 'admonished' my OB for referring to me as a 'geriatric primo whatever,'

daughter #1 born 2 weeks before my 40th, #2 born 4 months after my 43rd!

(Good friends, mother much younger than I, had a DS birth; he remains one of my daughter's favorite 'brothers,' tho long-distance now. We remain connected with him and his 2 brothers, younger and older than he.))

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

17. While it is true that the risk for Down Syndrome is

greater for older moms, the reality is that most DS babies are born to younger mothers. I know a family where the first child was a DS son. I think the mom was in her early thirties. They went on to have two girls, neurotypical.

Honestly, when I was pregnant with my second, I felt that if that child were to be born with Down Syndrome, I'd be just fine. We'd cope. It turned out he was neurotypical, but I had no regrets about my decision.

I have known people who had a fetus diagnosed with DS who chose abortion. That was their choice, as it should always be. We cannot judge others, or assume they should make the same decisions we do.

[Backseat Driver]

13. So what do they call it when women are made redundant in corporate mergers, acqusitions, re-orgs, or

when TPTB want to outsource her living wage job with total and instant disruption of her finances to those that have no responsibility for providing benefits or is that situation reserved for, at any and every lifecycle stage (age) in which she might contribute to a child's care, or it that only reserved for the only-child, almost made orphan, married w/daughters man that require government punishment because they still have a fertile wife but no sons? (Nothing personal--just business?)

Geesh, still punishing women!

[Demsrule86]

16. I don't know what I would have done but I was tested with my last child...and I have

seen how difficult it is for parents of these kids. And the parents are older...when they are gone, the kids often end up in awful group homes...it is not Ohio or any State's business to force women to have to continue a pregnancy period.

[Lunabell]

8. Oh god, this makes me sick!

No woman should be forced to bear a child for any reason at all. I am just so furious I can hardly type. I know full well that many people with Down's syndrome have no problems at all, but there are those whose lives are just pure hell from cradle to grave with physical problems. I know this as a nurse who has worked with the developmentally disabled. A woman knows how much she can bear and if she chooses to have an abortion for this reason I fully support her!

[Diamond_Dog]

12. +1000

[Backseat Driver]

14. Disgusting ruling!