Prenatal Equal Protection Act seeks to ‘entirely abolish abortion,’ overturn 2023 amendment
Two Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would outlaw all abortions and treat them as homicide in the state of Ohio.
The “Ohio Prenatal Equal Protection Act,” introduced by state Reps. Levi Dean, R-Xenia, and Johnathan Newman, R-Troy, last Wednesday, seeks to “entirely abolish abortion” by granting criminal and civil protections from the point of fertilization and overturning a 2023 amendment to the state constitution that establishes “an individual right to one’s own reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion.”
Under the bill, which has six co-sponsors, the state of Ohio would uphold the U.S. Constitution by “protecting the lives of preborn persons with the same criminal and civil laws protecting the lives of born persons by repealing provisions that permit willful prenatal homicide or assault,” including the 2023 amendment.
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If passed, the Prenatal Equal Protection Act would also end the practice of in vitro fertilization (IVF), an infertility treatment where an egg and sperm are artificially fertilized, along with some forms of contraception.
End Abortion Ohio, a Christian nonprofit that calls for the “legal abolition of abortion” in Ohio, celebrated the bill’s filing last Wednesday with a statement that called Ohio’s 2023 constitutional amendment a violation of the 14th Amendment and thus “null and void.” In addition, End Abortion Ohio called for an “appeal to the highest law; the law of God.”
“In the Holy Scriptures, all men are created equal, being made in the image of God,” the organization said in a statement Wednesday. “The Triune God prohibits partiality, condemns murder, and commands magistrates to do ‘justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute” (Psalm 82:3). We must obey God rather than men, and we call upon our governing authorities to follow in that obedience.”
Despite its appeal to Scripture to abolish abortion, other pro-life organizations in Ohio have so far been reluctant to support the abolitionist effort.
Mike Andrews, spokesman for the Columbus-based Center for Christian Virtue (CCV), which states on its website that it supports efforts “ensuring life is protected from its very beginning to its natural end,” told CP on June 18 that the abolitionist “proposal is not a part of CCV’s efforts to overturn the abortion amendment and save lives.” Andrews would not provide any further comment.
Other pro-life advocates like David Closson with Family Research Council, a Christian conservative advocacy organization, have advocated in favor of more measured legislative approaches, saying abolitionist initiatives are unlikely to garner widespread voter support.
“The sad reality is the majority of our fellow citizens are pro-abortion,” Closson said at the 2025 Life & Liberty Conference hosted by The Danbury Institute earlier this month. “As pro-lifers, the regrettable reality is that we are a political minority.”
It’s unclear whether the bill will garner enough support to pass in the Ohio Legislature. Similar bills that would treat abortion as homicide in at least eight other states are currently under consideration.
One recent survey found the gap between men and women on whether abortion is morally acceptable has reached record levels. Earlier this month, Gallup released a poll that found 61% of women characterized themselves as pro-choice compared to just 41% of men. The gender gap was the highest in the 30 years that Gallup has conducted an annual survey measuring public opinion on abortion.
