A House panel voted Thursday morning to send the “heartbeat bill,” which would place steep restrictions on access to abortion, to the full House.
The controversial bill, approved by a vote of 11-6, would prohibit abortion once a fetal heartbeat has been detected, as early as six weeks into a woman’s pregnancy. Anti-abortion advocates are divided on the bill, which some say would trigger court challenges certain to fail.
The vote by the Health and Aging Committee to push the bill to floor came following testimony in which the threat of a lawsuit against the state was made clear.
Gary Daniels of the American Civil Liberties Union in Ohio told legislators if the state enacts the heartbeat bill his organization will challenge it in court.
Federal courts have already declared similar bills in Arkansas and North Dakota unconstitutional. Those cases are pending at the appellate level.
Using the legislation as a means to challenge the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark abortion decision Roe vs. Wade is “misguided at best” and a “risky roll of the dice,” Daniels said.
But a court challenge is something supporters have said they would welcome.
When the bill was introduced, Reps. Christina Hagan of Alliance and Lynn Wachtmann of Napoleon, two Republican sponsors of the legislation, said they hoped enactment of the law would set up a means to challenge Roe.
Last minute changes to a legislative panel prior to the hearing were made in an attempt to provide the votes needed to move the measure to a full House vote.
Wachtmann, in an interview before the hearing, said three Republicans and one Democrat were changed to ensure the panel had enough members present and votes to give the bill initial approval.
“My goal would be to have the hearing and vote the heartbeat bill out of committee today,” Wachtmann said in the interview.
If the bill passes the full House again, it faces an uncertain future in the Senate.
A previous version of the bill passed the House during the last two-year session but failed to pass the Senate. Then-Senate President Tom Niehaus, a New Richmond Republican, prevented the bill from receiving a floor vote.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich said he has concerns about the bill, but stopped short of promising a veto Thursday.
Kasich, in an interview here after a Republican Governors Association news conference, said he worries about legal challenges to the measure, which many believe would violate the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark abortion ruling in Roe vs. Wade.
The bill, which cleared an Ohio House hurdle earlier in the day, would outlaw abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
“I share the same concerns as Ohio Right to Life,” Kasich said.
The group, like Kasich, is opposed to abortion, though Kasich makes exceptions in the case of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in jeopardy. Ohio’s version of the Heartbeat Bill would only make exceptions for health of the mother.
But Kasich has accepted other abortion restrictions, most notably in the state budget he signed last year. He sidestepped questions Thursday about how he’ll act if the Heartbeat Bill passes the full House and, afterward, the full Ohio Senate.
“It’s a long way till it comes to my desk,” Kasich said.
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