Encouraged by Trump’s Election, Ohio Lawmakers Pass ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Bill

Now one question remains: Will Kasich sign the “Heartbeat Bill” into law?

The Republican-controlled state House voted to approve the the so-called “heartbeat bill” yesterday after it passed in the Senate earlier in the day.

Current Ohio law generally prohibits abortions of viable fetuses.

What’s more is that most women won’t make it to the doctor before a fetal heartbeat is present, based on simple math.

“It’s unconscionable that politicians in OH are trying to sneakily pass clearly unconstitutional abortion bans in the final days of their session”, said Nancy Northup, the CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. They also implored Kasich to veto the bill.

Ohio’s state legislature has passed a bill with devastating consequences for reproductive rights. He told lawmakers to expect a tough budget because OH is on “the verge of a recession”. This week he told the Associated Press that the bill was placed back on the agenda because of the expectation that Trump will fill Supreme Court vacancies with justices who are friendlier to anti-abortion legislation.

But despite lawmakers’ views, many anti-abortion activists in the state are not celebrating the move.

In addition, it is to be contingent on Gov. John Kasich, who has given 10 days to resolve whether to reject the legislature for what transpires succeeding for the aforementioned bill that would forbid such abortions even in cases of rape or incest.

“You have to be patient and strategic with the courts”, said Gonidakis.

Gonidakis thinks it may even strengthen Roe v Wade. CNN reports that he said at the time that “We are a pro-life caucus”.

If abortion legislation is challenged and makes its way to the US Supreme Court, it would face the question of whether it places an undue burden on a woman’s right to an abortion.

“Bans such as these only hurt women and their families and waste taxpayer dollars by defending laws that federal courts have routinely declared unconstitutional”, Mike Brickner, a senior policy director at the ACLU, said on Wednesday before the vote.

“The sad reality of this bill passing will be that we spend millions of taxpayer dollars on attorney fees for a bill that has zero chance of becoming law”, said Sen. Just a few hours later, the proposal was on the Senate floor, winning approval by a vote of 21-10 after it was added to an unrelated House Bill 493.

The Columbus Dispatch and the Cleveland Plain Dealer have reported that Kasich expressed concerns about previous attempts to pass a “Heartbeat Bill”, including that it may not withstand legal challenges.

The bill violates current constitutional standards for abortion rights, and similar measures in Arkansas and North Dakota have already been struck down by federal courts.

The Heartbeat Bill won’t likely be the only abortion restriction passed during this Lame Duck Session.

“That could certainly be part of the strategy”, noted Allen. “Both bans are prohibitions on abortion prior to viability and the U.S. supreme court has been very clear that states may not do that”.