UPDATE, April 11: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed the legislation. The American Civil Liberties Union has threatened a lawsuit over the law.
The Ohio House of Representatives and State Senate today passed one of the nation’s tightest laws regulating abortion — the so-called “Heartbeat Bill” — after hours of protests and debate.
The legislation would make it illegal to administer an abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected — as soon as six weeks after conception — and would make it a felony for doctors to perform abortions after that point. The law does not make exceptions for rape or incest.
The state Senate quickly approved the law 18-13 after the House’s 56-40 vote. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has indicated he will sign the bill.
Supporters of the bill say it is an effort to save the lives of the unborn and see it as a potential way to escalate a challenge to Roe v. Wade to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bill co-sponsor State Rep. Candice Keller of Middletown says the aim of the legislation is simple: demonstrate that the laws can withstand legal scrutiny and protect the lives of the unborn.
“After nine years of waiting, it is time,” she told the House Health Committee, of which she is a member, in February.
Opponents, however, say the bill will greatly infringe on women’s rights to make decisions about their own bodies.
“Politicians in the Ohio State Legislature just passed one of the most extreme abortion bans in the entire country,” Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Ohio President and CEO Kersha Deibel said in a statement today. “And they’re not stopping there –– after years of passing anti-abortion laws under the guise of protecting patient health and safety, they lay bare their true motives: to ban abortion in the state of Ohio. Politicians have no right to dictate personal medical decisions. Make no mistake –– these bills punish women. When politicians attack health care, they disproportionately impact people of color, women, the LGBTQ community and young people.”
Some Democratic lawmakers cast the bill as an embarrassing moment for Ohio.
“Sadder than the fact that this legislation continues to undermine the rights of women, is the fact that this legislation continues to paint Ohio as a state that is not where great progressive talent wants to relocate to,” Cincinnati State Rep. Catherine Ingram said in a statement.
DeWine’s predecessor, John Kasich, vetoed the heartbeat bill twice, last in 2018, saying it likely violated the U.S. Constitution under Roe v. Wade. Instead, Kasich signed a law banning abortions after 20 weeks.
Courts have struck down similar heartbeat laws in other states, including North Dakota and Iowa, as recently as January. Federal courts have declared the laws violate the constitution under Roe v. Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that guarantees abortion rights.
But with the two new conservative additions to the Supreme Court, supporters of the law say it could be part of a wave of legislation that succeeds before the new Supreme Court.
“Ultimately, this will work its way up to the United States Supreme Court,” DeWine told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt last month. “And they’ll make that decision.”
Following DeWine signing the bill into law, the ACLU threatened a lawsuit to challenge it.
“This legislation is blatantly unconstitutional and we will fight to the bitter end to ensure that this bill is permanently blocked,” ACLU of Ohio Legal Director Freda Levenson said, calling the law “one of the most aggressive, oppressive, and radical attacks against women ever seen in this state and this country.”
This article appears in Apr 10-17, 2019.