Why, Ohio?

This one blows me away (and kinda makes me wanna vomit).

A group of state reps in Ohio are pushing a bill that would ban women from seeking an abortion without written consent from the potential father of the fetus. If his identity is unknown, women would be required to submit a list of possible fathers. The physician would be forced to conduct a paternity test from the provided list and then seek paternal permission to abort (question: what if he doesn't want to submit to a paternity test? Is he tied down and forced? Or is she forced to give birth? Lots of forcing in this bill...). Also, claiming to not know the father's identity is not a viable excuse, according to the proposed legislation. Simply put: no father means no abortion.

As a matter of law, this is already against it. Planned Parenthood v. Casey said that SPOUSAL consent posed an undue burden on a woman's right to choose abortion; now the state is trying to allow a one night stand to overrule a woman's personal decision about whether or not to have a child?

Not surprisingly, this bill has been greeted with outrage. In addition to eliminating a woman's right to make this most personal of decisions, it is clearly designed to embarrass and penalize women who have more than one sexual partner.

Contact Rep. John Adams, the bill's sponsor, and tell him what he can do with this legislation by clicking here.

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In more promising news, Congress today is debating The State Children's Health Insurance Program, a bill that would -- gasp -- actually provide health insurance for millions of low-income children and adults.

It's unconscionable that, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, millions of children and their parents still have no health insurance. Imagine for a second how terrified you'd be if you were unable to bring your feverish child to the doctor and then tell Congress why you care by clicking here.