Heartbeat Bill proposed again in House
GENERAL ASSEMBLY /
A state legislator from northeastern Ohio has reintroduced a bill that would ban abortions within weeks of conception, six months after Gov. John Kasich vetoed the Heartbeat Bill passed by the Republicancontrolled legislature.
Rep. Christina Hagan, R-Alliance, said she isn’t concerned about the politics that will play out on House Bill 258.
“I believe that children with beating hearts deserve protection in the state of Ohio, and we should work toward that effort regardless of what the political climate ever looks like,” she said. “You can’t get distracted by variables you can’t control.”
She added, “Every chance we have to debate this, we have an opportunity to change hearts and minds on the issue.”
Hagan’s reintroduction of the bill this week is the latest attempt by proponents to move the socalled Heartbeat Bill, which has been offered now in four consecutive sessions of the General Assembly. The first time, the bill made it through the Ohio House but stalled in the Senate. The second time, the bill failed to gain the required support to move it further.
The Ohio House approved the Heartbeat Bill again in 2016, and Republican senators added the measure to unrelated legislation during one of their final voting sessions of the year.
But Kasich used his lineitem-veto authority to strike the Heartbeat Bill amendment, opting instead to sign a separate 20-week abortion ban that was favored by Ohio Right to Life.
Opponents have said repeatedly that the Heartbeat Bill represents a further intrusion into women’s health decisions. Meanwhile, some groups opposed to abortion are concerned that the legislation could lead to court decisions undoing other restrictions in state law.
“Over the years, this unconstitutional abortion ban has been rejected by the Ohio Senate, the Ohio House, blocked by federal appeals courts, denied by the U.S. Supreme Court, and most recently, vetoed by John Kasich,” said Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, in a statement.
“When a woman needs access to abortion care, her biggest concern shouldn’t be political maneuvering by the governor and state legislators. All she wants to know is that she can obtain an affordable, safe and legal procedure in her community. Shame on any politician who steps in her way.”
But proponents believe the legislation could serve as the vehicle to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Comparable legislation has been introduced in Congress and other states.
“Every time we have the discussion about the validity of the child in the womb, I believe we save lives,” Hagan said. “As far as having the discussion on the House floor or in committee, I will have it at every opportunity and every turn of the way. I believe that these discussions encourage others to understand and extend that protection to the unborn, even if it’s those in the Senate or the executive branch that haven’t formerly supported the legislation.”
House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, R-Clarksville, was among about 50 representatives who signed on as co-sponsors of the new legislation.
“The bill’s passed through the House chamber, I think, multiple times,” he told reporters Wednesday. “We’ve got a lot of support … I wouldn’t be shocked to see it come to the floor again.”