Ohio House Bill HB128

Ohio 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/24/25

Caption

To amend sections 109.572, 2305.11, 2317.02, 2919.10, 2919.12, 2953.25, 3701.341, 3701.792, 3702.30, 4112.01, 4112.02, 4729.291, 4731.22, 4731.223, 4731.281, 4731.293, and 4743.09; to enact sections 2305.2312, 3732.01, 3732.02, 3732.03, 3732.04, 3732.05, 3732.06, 3732.07, 3732.08, 3732.09, and 3732.11; and to repeal sections 2307.54, 2317.56, 2317.561, 2919.101, 2919.124, 2919.171, 2919.19, 2919.191, 2919.192, 2919.193, 2919.194, 2919.195, 2919.196, 2919.197, 2919.198, 2919.199, 2919.1910, 2919.1912, 2919.1913, 2919.20, 2919.201, 2919.202, 2919.203, 2919.204, 2919.205, 3701.79, 3701.791, 3702.302, 3702.303, 3702.304, 3702.305, 3702.306, 3702.307, 3702.308, 3702.309, 3702.3010, 3702.3011, 3726.01, 3726.02, 3726.03, 3726.04, 3726.041, 3726.042, 3726.05, 3726.09, 3726.10, 3726.11, 3726.12, 3726.13, 3726.14, 3726.15, 3726.16, 3726.95, 3726.99, 3727.60, 4717.271, 5101.57, and 5103.11 of the Revised Code to enact the Reproductive Care Act regarding abortion, abortion-related laws, and reproductive health protections.

Summary

HB128, titled the Reproductive Care Act, would substantially revise Ohio law governing abortion and reproductive health care. The bill repeals a large number of existing abortion-related provisions and replaces them with new protections for patients, providers, and helpers. It creates a civil, criminal, and professional-liability shield for reproductive health care providers and others involved in providing or accessing lawful reproductive health care, except in cases of willful, wanton, or reckless misconduct. It also bars compelled disclosure of patient records to out-of-state third parties and creates new protections against abusive litigation aimed at people seeking or assisting reproductive health care in Ohio. The bill also adds a new privacy framework for reproductive or sexual health information held by regulated entities. Under that framework, entities generally may not collect, retain, use, or disclose such information without express consent or unless strictly necessary to provide a requested service. It gives individuals rights to access and delete their information, requires privacy policies, and authorizes both private lawsuits and enforcement by the attorney general under consumer-protection law. In addition, the bill amends employment discrimination law to prohibit adverse employment actions based on reproductive health decisions, including abortion, miscarriage, and family planning, and it allows reproductive health care to be provided by telehealth under Ohio’s telehealth rules. HB128 would also repeal or replace several existing abortion-related statutes, including informed-consent and reporting provisions, abortion facility rules, and certain criminal and civil liability provisions. It revises medical-board discipline statutes so that abortion-related violations of the remaining law can trigger professional sanctions, while also removing some older abortion-specific enforcement provisions. The bill would therefore shift Ohio’s legal framework away from restrictive abortion regulation and toward explicit statutory protections for lawful reproductive care, patient privacy, and provider access. Because the bill was only introduced and no committee testimony or recorded votes were provided, there is no documented floor or committee sentiment in the materials supplied. Based on the bill’s content and sponsorship, the measure appears to be framed as a protective and access-expanding proposal for reproductive health care. Its overall direction is strongly pro-access and privacy-oriented, with an emphasis on shielding patients and providers from legal exposure. The main points of contention are likely to center on abortion policy, the scope of the new privacy restrictions, and the bill’s limits on litigation and record disclosure. Supporters would likely emphasize patient autonomy, confidentiality, telehealth access, and protection from out-of-state enforcement or harassment. Opponents would likely focus on the repeal of existing abortion restrictions, the creation of new causes of action and penalties against regulated entities, and the bill’s broad definition of reproductive health information and protected reproductive health care.

Impact

HB128 would amend multiple sections of the Revised Code and repeal a substantial body of existing abortion-related law, while enacting a new chapter of reproductive-care protections. It would affect health care providers, facilities, employers, regulated entities handling reproductive data, insurers or service providers involved in telehealth, and individuals seeking or assisting reproductive health care. The bill also changes professional discipline rules for physicians and other licensed health professionals by tying certain sanctions to abortion-related violations and by preserving disciplinary authority for conduct that violates the remaining abortion and reproductive-care provisions.

Sentiment

No committee transcript or vote history was provided, so there is no recorded legislative debate or vote-based sentiment to summarize. From the bill text alone, the measure is clearly intended as a pro-reproductive-rights and privacy bill, expanding access to lawful reproductive care and limiting state and third-party interference. The sponsorship and title suggest supportive intent from the bill’s authors, while the breadth of the repeal and new protections suggests it would likely be controversial among abortion-policy stakeholders.

Contention

The most likely contention is over the bill’s repeal of existing abortion restrictions and the creation of broad protections for providers, patients, and helpers. Opponents may object to the new civil liability and consumer-protection remedies against entities that collect or disclose reproductive health data, as well as the limits on compelled disclosure to out-of-state actors and the anti-abusive-litigation provisions. Supporters are likely to argue that these changes are necessary to protect privacy, prevent harassment, and preserve access to lawful reproductive care in Ohio.