Roe v. Wade: Dayton City Commission to consider ways to decriminalize abortions, Mayor Mims says

DAYTON — The Dayton City Commission is considering taking steps to decriminalize abortions, Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. said Tuesday evening, and the members are planning to discuss the issue when they meet in general session Wednesday.

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City administration is studying what can be done to decriminalize any act associated with a woman and her family who feels the need to move in that direction relative to abortion, Mims told News Center 7′s Molly Koweek.

Mayors in several cities have announced new policies to ensure city employees and their families have access to medical care, in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The Dayton City Commission’s resolution would not necessarily mark a change in policy, Mayor Mims said.

“What it is is just saying that we are just not going to find a way to make that a criminal offense if someone chooses to do that. What we’re doing relative to transportation and other things, we’re looking into what we can do and so we move from that perspective, particular direction when the time comes.”

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Mims said, “whatever a mother, her doctor, and her husband feel that they should do to make sure that we don’t criminalize those activities.”

Mims said he’s not sure what the commission’s resolution would look like.

“I want [News Center 7 viewers] to know how much we’re concerned about what’s happening here in the city, what’s happening with different families and that we’re here to do everything we can to support families,” the mayor said.

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Ohio’s “Heartbeat Bill” is now the law in the Buckeye state, state Attorney General Dave Yost announced in the hours following the high court’s ruling on Roe. Ohio’s “Heartbeat Bill” outlaws abortions after six weeks, which is after a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

But Tom Hagel, University of Dayton professor of law, and acting judge said the city cannot trump state law like the Heartbeat Law.

“I quite frankly don’t know what he’s got in mind,” Hagel said.

This leaves questions as to how exactly the city plans to pull off the decriminalization.

“The bottom line is that once the state legislature passes a statute dealing with abortion, whether it is a civil statute dealing with it or statutes that create a criminal offense... a municipality cannot trump that statute,” Hagel explained.

News Center 7 looked at the agenda for the June 29 meeting and did not see the resolution there.

A city spokesperson said the resolution is not ready yet.

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