Portsmouth Mayor Says Pro-Abortion Legislation is a “Priority”
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Portsmouth Mayor Sean Dunne is no stranger to controversial topics, and now he wants the city to take a stand on the hot-button topic of abortion.
During the City Manager’s Conference Meeting, Dunne requested that City Manager Sam Sutherland and his team draft legislation similar to Cincinnati’s.
The Queen City recently passed rules de-prioritizing the prosecution of women seeking abortions that violate Ohio’s “Heartbeat” law that forbids abortions once a heartbeat is detected, except in cases where the mother’s life is in danger or her health is at serious risk, or in the case of ectopic pregnancies.
Cincinnati also agreed that city employee’s insurance would cover elective abortions and that also pay travel fees to go out of state to seek an abortion. Additionally, they passed a resolution in support of the idea of abortion rights.
Dunne said at the meeting that he felt it was an issue of healthcare access. He said other cities and counties around the state had passed similar legislation
“I imagine most people join city council without thinking this is a topic they will be legislating on. But times and the landscape have certainly changed. Our judicial branch has said this is exactly what needs to happen. It should be at a local level.”
The mayor says that regardless of how council members feel on the issue, it is important that their voices be heard. “It’s a very serious topic that directly affects residents and family in our city.” He said citizens should also see where their representatives stand on the issue. “I think it’s a priority. I’d like to see it as an agenda item. Then if people want to amend it, they can do so.” Dunne requested the local ordinance be based on Cincinnati’s legislation.
Other members of the city government questioned whether the city had the authority to legislate on abortion since cities cannot override state or federal laws.
Councilman Joey Sandlin questioned whether the city government should wade into the debate. “I would rather deal with the business at hand, the everyday. Our jobs are somewhat boring… Do we have drinking water, is the electric working properly, are we taking care of phone calls from members of our wards? Are we taking care of asphalt and picking up trash? This is beyond our purview.” Sandlin said he could see no positive outcome from the council tackling such a divisive issue.
Dunne said that the legislation passed by other cities affected the healthcare packages of city workers and therefore the access to healthcare of women living in the cities. He said that de-prioritizing abortion prosecutions would direct city departments on how to respond to the issue. (this legislation would not apply to the Scioto County Prosecutor’s Office, as they are not under the direction of the city and are bound by state and federal laws.)
Dunne said that many women’s organizations across the state supported this type of legislation and that he was encouraged to move forward with the legislation by voters in his ward. Dunne said if his fellow council members don’t care for the legislation, they can vote it down.
At Monday’s City Manager’s Meeting, members will have the choice of rejecting the request for drafting legislation, modifying the request, or authorizing it, or they can choose to take no action.
Scioto County Daily News reached out to Mayor Dunne for comment about his proposal on Friday morning. The Mayor has declined to comment.
Here is the full discussion from the last meeting.
