‘Heartbeat’ abortion ban vetoed, but other limits pass

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The state has moved again to impose some of the most far-reaching abortion restrictions in the nation, after Republican Gov. John Kasich signed a ban Friday on dilation and evacuation terminations and set up a showdown with lawmakers over his veto of what’s known as the “heartbeat bill.”

Kasich had previously signed 20 abortion-limiting proposals into law in this politically divided state since taking office in 2011, including a 20-week ban that both sides agree is unconstitutional. The number of full-service Ohio abortion clinics has shrunk from 16 to seven since he took office.

But the heartbeat bill has twice proved too extreme for Kasich, a potential 2020 presidential candidate who’s spent the past two years in a quest for bipartisan consensus.

The measure calls for banning the procedure once a fetal heartbeat is detected. That can happen as early as six weeks into pregnancy. Kasich vetoed a similar bill two years ago and did so again Friday.

In a veto message, he said the heartbeat bill is likely to be struck down as unconstitutional — but only after a costly court fight. “The State of Ohio will be the losing party in that lawsuit and, as the losing party, the State of Ohio will be forced to pay hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to cover the legal fees for the pro-choice activists’ lawyers,” he wrote.

Ohio lawmakers return to Columbus on Thursday to consider overrides of several Kasich vetoes, although it’s unclear whether they’ll have enough votes to override the heartbeat bill veto. Among factors are that Kasich’s successor, Gov.-elect Mike DeWine, has said he would sign a heartbeat bill once he takes the helm.

Kasich signed the ban on dilation and evacuation terminations, a procedure known as D&E that is a common secondtrimester abortion method. Similar laws have been rejected by the courts.

Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, rejects the suggestion that Ohioans are clamoring for the heartbeat bill. She said termlimited lawmakers elected from safe legislative districts redrawn in Republicans’ favor are pushing measures that are not necessarily in step with the state as a whole.

Opponents of the heartbeat bill include the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Ohio Medical Association.

Julie Carr Smyth is an Associated Press writer.