Policy Pulse 1.15.26

1. Contact Senator Moreno and Senator Husted Today: “there is no substitute for the Hyde Amendment.” During the government shutdown last fall, a sticking point became the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies. The subsidies and their end date were initially established in the ACA (Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare,”) but without them premiums are incredibly expensive.  This became more of a sticking point when it came to applying the Hyde Amendment, which dictates no abortion funding, to the subsidies and the plans they covered.
After some discouraging comments from President Trump on “flexibility,” the US House passed a version of the Obamacare subsidy extension without the Hyde protection. The Senate is working on a compromise that our colleagues at Susan B Anthony call a “sham.” You can learn more about this purported compromise to extend Obamacare without the Hyde Amendment here.
In response, we are calling on Senators Moreno and Husted to draw a proverbial line in the sand. There should be no flexibility on forcing taxpayers to fund abortion – even through Obamacare subsidies. Any additional policies to strengthen existing restrictions – such as requiring audits of state funds that may comingle with abortion, is laudable but not a substitute.  
We encourage our community to contact Senator Moreno and Senator Husted today with a simple, powerful message such as, “I am a pro-life Ohio voter, and I am asking you not to allow a sham compromise on the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies that forces taxpayers to fund abortion. While I support other measures, such as strengthening audits in states that commingle funds in violation of Hyde, this is no substitute to maintaining the Hyde Amendment.”  
2. Heartbeat Law Decision Returned to Judge Jenkins to be Reconsidered.
In other news, the Ohio First District Court of Appeals issued a decided blow to Hamilton County activist Judge Jenkins, when it returned his decision in the Heartbeat law to him to be re-considered.  
The justices said Jenkins went too far in blocking the entire law, because not all parts of the law were challenged by the plaintiffs. The court held that a trial judge shouldn’t strike down provisions that weren’t challenged, even though it agreed the heartbeat provision itself was unconstitutional under the amendment. So, the appeals court remanded (returned) the case back to the trial court for proper severability analysis and review of the other sections of the statute. 
Why is this important?
First: it highlights the importance of legal process and careful challenge strategy. Of course we want strong laws that protect all unborn children, and it is frustrating when legal and political processes stall them or when judges block them. The appeals court siding with Attorney General Yost’s procedural argument that Jenkins exceeded his authority is a check on judicial overreach – even if the overall heartbeat protections cannot be enforced right now.
Second: it preserves parts of the pro-life statute as enforceable. Reporting requirements, documentation rules, and enforcement mechanisms can now be upheld and implemented if they are found constitutional and severable. Limiting how far a single judge can go and keeping the legal fight alive, while not a substitute for laws and constitutions that protect the unborn, is a reminder that we are not giving up this fight.
We want to thank our Attorney General and his team for their perseverance in this element and for their larger vision. 
3. Senator Husted Stands Up for Women, Shares Adoption Story
At a U.S. Senate Hearing regarding a requirement that the abortion inducing drug mifepristone be provided in person, Ohio Senator Jon Husted shared recent and horrific cases of men illicitly obtaining the abortion pill and secretly or under threat of violence forcing women to take the pill. He also shared his own birth story, experience in foster care, and adoption. While Senator Husted has shared this story with us numerous times, it was incredibly powerful in the context of forced abortion and from the U.S. Senate. Listen here or read some media coverage.