This Wednesday, Ohio GOP lawmakers passed the “Heartbeat Bill,” which bans abortion if the fetus’s heartbeat is detectable.
According to BuzzFeed, the bill was added at the last minute onto another bill that addressed child abuse. Governor John Kasich will either sign or veto the bill in 10 days.
Kasich’s press secretary Emmalee Kalmbach said that the session received a “flood of bills, including “bills inside of bills” and pledged that the Governor’s office “will closely examine everything we receive.”
From BuzzFeed:
Many women do not know they are pregnant until they have missed two periods, which can often be around eight weeks. Others may find out before the six-week mark, but might still be unable to get an abortion in time because there are a lack of clinics in Ohio and state laws require women wait 24 hours between an informational appointment about abortion and having the procedure done.
Dr. Diane Horvath-Cosper, a practitioner of clinical medicine and member of Physicians for Reproductive Health, told BuzzFeed News that the bill was “extreme” and “dangerous.”
“We have evidence that shows that banning abortion does not make it go away — it just increases the chances that people will seek care in potentially unsafe environments,” Horvath-Cosper said.
Speaking to BuzzFeed on Wednesday, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said he believes the bill is unconstitutional.
“It’d be nice if the legislature would actually be doing something about jobs and doing something about renewable energy standards and keeping the economy growth going that way instead of passing unconstitutional bills,” he said.
If Kasich simply chooses to do nothing rather than sign the bill, it will still become law early next year. The bill makes no exceptions for rape or incest.
Featured image via Right Wing Watch
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