A bill that would make Ohio’s abortion laws the strictest in the nation is on its way to Gov. John Kasich’s desk just hours after Republicans slipped the “heartbeat bill” into a child welfare bill.
The Ohio House approved Senate amendments to the bill late Tuesday night, mostly along party lines, in a 56-39 vote. Earlier in the day, Senate Republicans added language banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, commonly known as the “heartbeat bill,” to an unrelated measure. That could be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, before a woman might find out she’s pregnant.
Democrats adamantly opposed the bill, saying it would risk women’s health and trigger an expensive lawsuit on the back of taxpayers.
If Kasich signs the bill, Ohio will be the third state to pass such a law. Courts have found Arkansas and North Dakota laws unconstitutional, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld those lower-court rulings, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear further appeal.
Ohio Right to Life, the state’s largest anti-abortion organization, does not support the legislation because the current Supreme Court would likely find it unconstitutional. For that reason, Senate leaders had previously declined to vote on legislation.
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