Ohio House committee approves 20-week abortion ban

A ban on abortion after six weeks is radical. The “Heartbeat Bill” would make exceptions for mothers whose lives are endangered by their pregnancies, but it would not make exceptions for abortions resulting from rape or incest.

The Ohio state house and Senate have approved a bill that could outlaw abortion after an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detected, which normally occurs within six weeks of gestation. OH passed a bill on December 6 that would make it illegal to abort a pregnancy as soon as a heartbeat is detected – around 6 weeks.

Supporters of the Heartbeat Bill, including Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina, say Trump’s election and expectation that he will appoint conservatives to the U.S. Supreme Court improve the chances it will be upheld. Mike Brickner, the senior policy director of ACLU Ohio told Buzzfeed “if Governor Kasich signs that bill, we will absolutely challenge that in federal court”. The ruling offered no legal definition of viability, saying it could range between 24 and 28 weeks into a pregnancy. Passed as an amendment to an unrelated bill, the anti-abortion measure is in direct conflict with Roe v. Wade, which means it has a good chance of landing in front of the nine justices. That clears the way for what would be one of the nation’s most stringent abortion restrictions.

While we can and should be outraged by this extremist attack on reproductive rights, none of us should be surprised by it. Republicans have always been trying to restrict or criminalize abortion.

This means that OH republicans proposed change would put the state in violation of current constitutional standards.

The ACLU of OH believes the bill is “is political interference in a woman’s most personal, private medical decisions”, according to its website.

In addition to proposing a clearly unconstitutional abortion ban, Republican Gov. John Kasich has also appointed, and the state Senate has just confirmed a man with zero medical experience to head the state’s health department.

If the legislation is signed by the governor, the law is certain to face legal challenge, with the American Civil Liberties Union of OH already stating it would file a suit against it.

Ohio’s GOP-controlled legislature has passed numerous restrictions on abortions in recent years. The 20-week ban could be an alternative for Kasich to sign, or as a backup if the Heartbeat Bill is struck down. It doesn’t even allow it in cases of rape or incest! The “heartbeat bill” was passed on Wednesday and is moving to the desk of GOP Gov. John Kasich to either be signed or vetoed. (Republicans in OH have tried to pass similar bills twice in the past several years.) Last year, Faber said that he anxious a heartbeat bill would be “risking throwing out all of the things we’ve done to save babies”.

Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said the “heartbeat bill” and others like it “punish women”. Only 145 abortions were performed after 20 weeks previous year.