State Reps. Danny Bubp (R-West Union) and Joe Uecker (R-Loveland) have announced that the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 79, which will prohibit the coverage of elective abortions within the health plans required by the new federal health care law.

The federal health care law requires each state to establish an “American Health Benefit Exchange” to encourage the purchase of health care plans, which may include elected abortions as a health care benefit. However, a state may prohibit abortion coverage in its own health benefit exchange if the state passes a law specifying as such.

“Currently, 29 other states have either introduced or plan to introduce similar legislation,” said Bubp. “It is important that we join this nationwide movement to protect the taxpayers from being forced to pay for abortions out of their own pockets, while at the same time taking steps to protect our most vulnerable Ohioans.”

“The people of the State of Ohio already face one of the highest tax burdens in the nation, and we have an obligation as lawmakers to rein in the cost of state government the best that we can,” said Uecker. “I think that this legislation is just one of the ways that our government can be accountable to the taxpayers.”

House Bill 79, which passed with bipartisan support, was originally introduced in May 2010 of the previous General Assembly. It will now move to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.