An Ohio city on Tuesday voted to ban abortion, declaring itself to be a “sanctuary city for the unborn.”
The City Council of Lebanon, Ohio, voted unanimously to approve the city law, though one member quit in protest before the meeting. Republican Mayor Amy Brewer said the new law takes effect immediately in the city, which is north of Cincinnati and home to approximately 20,000 residents.
“We are clearly saying in our community we do not think it is in our best interest to open a clinic or a hospital that does abortions,” Brewer said. “We are elected to make decisions based on what’s good for our community today.”
A few dozen people addressed the council before the vote, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Some prayed, some sang, some told deeply personal stories about rape or miscarriages. Outside city hall groups on both sides shouted at each other and urged drivers to honk for their side,” said the paper.
“The residents of Lebanon deserve leaders who listen to the needs of community members rather than playing politics with people’s lives and health,” Stephanie Kollmann Baker, the state organizing director for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, told the council.
“I think it’s an important thing for people to be aware that there are ways to protect the unborn and women still have their right to choose,” city resident Renee Wisser said. “This is a good thing for Lebanon, Ohio.”
But Veronica Strevel, a resident of Lebanon for four years, said the law would be an overreach of the city council. “It worries me because every Lebanon citizen needs a chance to speak and that shouldn’t get convoluted by outside influences. I want people to know that this is not OK. It’s not OK for our rogue city council to take it upon themselves to create an ordinance without consulting its citizens,” she said, according to the Enquirer.
Before the meeting, council member Krista Wyatt resigned. “I am heartbroken to not fulfill my term and I know many people will be disappointed with this. But as a respectable, decent human being, I can no longer allow my name to be associated with the Lebanon City Council,” she wrote in a statement provided to Enquirer media partner Fox19.
The new law “makes it illegal to provide an abortion, aid an abortion, provide money or transportation for an abortion, and provide instructions for an abortion within the city limits of Lebanon,” said the Enquirer. “It exempts the pregnant woman who seeks an abortion from prosecution. Violation of the law would be punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.”
“Exemptions in the ordinance include ectopic pregnancy, a miscarriage, or preserving the health of the unborn child. There is no mention of exemptions in cases of rape or incest in the ordinance,” said the paper.
Joseph Curl covered the White House for a dozen years and ran the Drudge Report for four years. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter at @JosephCurl.