The Ohio House of Representatives passed a bill outlawing abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
The controversial bill outlaws abortion as early as six weeks when many women have yet to even know they are pregnant, experts say.
“It’s often the case that a woman doesn’t even know she’s pregnant until after six weeks,” said Democratic state Rep. Nickie Antonio. “This is especially true for women who are emotionally traumatized by rape.”
There are no exceptions in the bill for situations like rape or incest. Medical practitioners that violate this law could face up to a year in prison, the
Columbus Dispatch reports.
This is the second time such a bill has passed the state house.
A similar bill was passed in 2016, but it was vetoed by Republican Gov. John Kasich, who said it would not survive a constitutional challenge.
At the time, the Heartbeat Bill was considered the strictest anti-abortion law in the nation. Republicans in 2016 were confident that the new president, Trump, and new Supreme Court appointees would make a difference.
Since then Trump has made two conservative appointments to the Supreme Court:
Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and
Brett Kavanaugh earlier this year.
