Ohio
lawmakers pass "heartbeat" abortion legislation
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[December 08, 2016]
By Kim Palmer
CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Ohio lawmakers
approved a bill that bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be
detected, as early as six weeks after conception, clearing the way for
one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the United States if
it becomes law.
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The Republican-led state House of Representatives and Senate passed
the so-called "heartbeat" measure late on Tuesday, sending it to be
signed into law by Republican Governor John Kasich.
Kasich, an abortion opponent, has in the past questioned whether
such legislation would be constitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide more than four
decades ago, but states were allowed to permit restrictions once a
fetus was viable. Some states, particularly those governed by
Republicans such as Ohio, have sought to chip away at a woman's
right to end a pregnancy.
Lower courts have struck down similar "heartbeat" laws in North
Dakota and Arkansas and the Supreme Court refused to hear appeals on
those rulings in January.
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But now, with Republican President-elect Donald Trump having the
opportunity to fill at least one Supreme Court vacancy,
conservatives in Ohio hope that the legislation can withstand a
challenge in court.
"A new president, new Supreme Court appointees change the dynamic,
and there was consensus in our caucus to move forward," Senate
President Keith Faber told the Columbus Dispatch.
"It has a better chance than it did before," Faber said of the
bill's chances of surviving a constitutional challenge, according to
the Dispatch.
The heartbeat legislation has been approved twice before by the
state's lower house only to fail in the Senate.
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The abortion legislation was part of a wider bill on reporting child
abuse. It does not make exceptions for rape and incest, though it
does allow for abortions that would save the mother's life,
according to text of the legislation.
Some women's rights groups were swift to condemn the approval of the
bill. The Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit research organization
that supports abortion rights and tracks abortion legislation, said
it would be one of the most restrictive abortion laws if enacted.
"Banning women from getting a medical procedure is out of touch with
Ohio values and is completely unacceptable," abortion-rights
advocacy group NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio said in a statement.
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