In a battle of one-upsmanship in how many women they can kill by legislation, Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell and Attorney General Jim Petro, both Republican candidates for governor, are battling for an endorsement from the ironically-titled Ohio Right to Life by pushing for ever-more-draconian forced-pregnancy laws.

Long an opponent of abortion rights, Blackwell would preclude abortion even if the life of a mother is at stake. In his 2002 re-election campaign, Blackwell took a position to permit an abortion if it were necessary to save a mother’s life.

Petro, who in 2000 switched from favoring abortion rights to opposing them except in cases of rape or incest or when the life of a mother is threatened, now would oppose it in all circumstances except to save a mother’s life. When he ran for attorney general in 2002, Petro retained the three exceptions.

Ohio Right to Life endorsed Petro and Blackwell in 2002 for their current offices. The two candidates have waged fierce campaigns for the organization’s gubernatorial endorsement, which they see as crucial to winning the party’s nomination on May 2.

Blackwell's new trump card is his wild claim that pregnancy no longer is dangerous for women.

"I believe all innocent life is sacred and should be protected...."

...the implication being, of course, that women who've gotten pregnant could never be "innocent" and damn well not at all "sacred."

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