Pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion demonstrators displaying their signs in the lobby of the Georgia State Capitol building during the 35th legislative day at the Georgia State Capitol building in downtown Atlanta, on March 22, 2019. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/File via AP)
The Ohio General Assembly passed a bill banning abortions in the presence of a fetal heartbeat and sent it to the governor’s desk for approval.
The bill passed the House Wednesday in a 56-39 vote, shortly after which the state Senate voted 18-13 to approve House changes to the bill, the Dayton Daily News reported.
Physicians could face fines up to $20,000 if they violate the law. A heartbeat usually becomes detectable between six and nine weeks in pregnancy.
The bill advanced through the Ohio House Health Committee Tuesday.
The heartbeat bill essentially prohibits all abortions, according to a maternal fetal medicine specialist, Dr. Michael Cackovic of Ohio State University Medical Center, The Associated Press reported. “You’re going to be doing more procedures and subjecting women to more procedures and medications to get abortions, because they’re rushing between that four and five weeks to get it accomplished,” Cackovic said.
Democratic state Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan also expressed worry over the bill. “I’m concerned that we will have companies that will choose not to locate here due to our oppressive laws. I’m concerned that doctors will leave the state of Ohio,” she said, according to the AP.
Ohio Representative Michele Lepore-Hagan wipes tears from her face during a hearing to propose amendments to the "Heartbeat Bill" which was later voted to pass through the committee and to the House floor at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio on April 9, 2019. (Brooke LaValley/Columbus Dispatch via AP)
Republican state Rep. Candice Keller applauded the move, calling the legislation “the most compassionate bill we’ve ever passed,” the AP reported.
Pro-life groups also applauded the bill’s passage. “Since 1973, countless unborn children have lost their lives to abortion in Ohio. Thanks to the compassion and commitment of the Ohio General Assembly, the Buckeye State will end this atrocity,” Citizens for Community Values President Aaron Baer said in a statement. CCV is a pro-life group that advocates for public policy reflecting the truth of the Gospel, according to its Twitter.
Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has 10 days to sign, veto or allow the bill to take effect without a signature. He has previously signaled he will sign the legislation.
Governors in Arkansas, North Dakota, Iowa, Mississippi and Kentucky have signed bills outlawing abortion in the presence of a fetal heartbeat. Many of the abortion bans, however, have remained ineffective following court orders prohibiting enforcement, Cleveland.com reported.
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