Anti-abortion protesters take part in March for Life on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., January 22, 2014. The march marked the 41st anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision in the famed Roe v. Wade case that affirmed a woman's right to an abortion. UPI/Kevin Dietsch |
License Photo
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- An Ohio House committee released a bill banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat has been detected Thursday, three years after similar legislation stalled.
Critics said the measure, if it becomes law, would essentially ban abortion in Ohio, and Gov. John Kasich, who opposes most abortions, said it could put the state in an expensive legal fight. The bill's Republican sponsors said explicitly that they want to challenge the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
The Health and Aging Committee approved the bill 11-6, sending it to the floor for a vote.
The bill would bar abortions once the fetus's heartbeat has been detected, which can happen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. Abortions would be allowed if continuing a pregnancy would jeopardize a woman's life or health.
"What this bill is is a radical ban on abortion that would outlaw the procedure at a point where most women do not even know they are pregnant yet," said Jaime Miracle of NARAL Pro Choice Ohio.
The 2011 bill passed the House but Tom Niehaus, a Republican who was then president of the state Senate barred it from a vote. Keith Faber, the current president and also a Republican, said he does not expect the bill to pass the upper house.
"I have grave concerns that if the heartbeat bill were to be passed, that it would jeopardize some of the other good, pro-life work that we've done in the General Assembly," Faber said.
Both Kasich and Ohio Right to Life said they had misgivings about the bill. Kasich, who was attending the Republican Governors Association meeting in Boca Raton, Fla., did not say if he would veto the measure, saying it was still a "long way" from his desk.
"Ohio Right to Life appreciates the governor's support and understanding regarding the negative and unintended legal consequences of overreaching legislation," said Michael Gonidakis, who heads the group. "Make no mistake our collective pro-life goal is to provide healthy opportunities to pregnant women and their children, both born and unborn."
Federal courts have struck down similar bills passed by other states.
