Guardian bill hits wall in Ohio legislature over abortion

Columbus dispatch ^ | December 10, 2014 | Josh Jarman

[Morgana]

Opposition by an anti-abortion group probably has killed a bill designed to protect thousands of Ohioans, most of them elderly, from abuse and neglect by their court-appointed guardians.

House Bill 624, which for the first time in Ohio would codify a “bill of rights” for residents who are under guardianship, was scheduled for a floor vote last Friday during the legislature’s lame-duck session.

House leadership referred it back to committee hours before a vote, however, after legislators received a letter opposing the bill from Ohio ProLife Action, an anti-abortion lobbying group.

Barry Sheets, spokesman for the group on this issue, said the legislation would have unintended consequences. Because the rights of wards listed in the bill include the right to “privacy of the body,” to “procreate” and to services “suited to the ward’s needs and conditions,” Sheets said members of the group fear a scenario in which an underage ward who became pregnant could demand an abortion, and the guardian would not be able to say no.