Although Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) recently refused to directly answer a question about his abortion views, he will be faced with a major decision regarding the procedure in his state. Up for debate is a new proposal that would ban abortions due to Down syndrome diagnoses.
Almost 90 percent of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted. Ohio lawmakers want that trend to come to a halt.
Ohio state Rep. John Becker, who is co-sponsoring the proposed ban, told CNN's "New Day" on Monday that even parents who are unequipped to raise a special needs child have options other than abortion, such as adoption.
"The idea is just because somebody is handicapped we don't want to put them to death," Becker said. "The pro-life movement really means pro life for all innocent human life."
The proposed bill comes at a very interesting time for the Ohio governor. Kasich was very unconvincing at a New Hampshire town hall last week when confronted about the right to life and it’s supposed animosity with women’s rights.
“I would like to ask whether you can respect the Roe versus Wade decision, and I ask because as a lifelong libertarian, I’m looking for a candidate to support who is both a fiscal conservative and not a threat to a woman’s right to control her own body,” said a voter at a town hall event in Salem, New Hampshire.
“Obviously, it’s the law of the land now, and we live with the law of the land,” Kasich replied.
Americans know it’s the law of the land. What they can’t confirm is how Kasich would defend the unborn should he be elected president. Considering other statements he made to CNN, it appears it would not be high on his presidential priority list.
“I think (abortion) is an important issue, but I think there’s many other issues that are really critical. Early childhood. Infant mortality. The environment. Education. I think we focus too much on just one issue, and now that the issue of gay marriage is kind of off the table, we’re kind of down to one social issue.”
Pro-lifers need a presidential candidate to prove his/her pro-life bona fides now more than ever, after those unnerving undercover videos from the Center for Medical Progress exposed Planned Parenthood’s obsessive pro-abortion ideology.
Kasich has yet to release a statement regarding his decision on the Down syndrome proposal. Meanwhile, other governors are taking the lead in defunding Planned Parenthood.