‘Heartbeat Bill’ Passes Senate In Ohio, Heading To Desk Of Governor John Kasich — Ohio Known As ‘One Of The Most Hostile Places In Country’ Regarding Abortion Laws

The topic of abortion has been a controversial and highly sensitive topic for decades. Since the passing of Roe v. Wade, there have been a number of states who have tried to overturn it or make it more difficult for a woman to have an abortion. While it continues to be a taboo subject, there are still frequent attempts to modify the ability for a child living in a woman’s body to be aborted.

For many of the pro-life advocates, abortion is a heinous act of killing a child, with some rare exceptions being considered. The Family Research Council affirms their stance by giving out statistics that show the reality of why abortions are really executed.

Advent Week Two: The Call to Love. https://t.co/KepTEdsVb9 @inspirelifenow #advent pic.twitter.com/7pbmW3AMRt

— Family Research Council (@FRCdc) December 6, 2016

“In the last 25 years Guttmacher has conducted two major studies asking women why they chose abortion and their answers have remained basically the same: Only 7% of women report that their abortion was because of a health reason or a possible health problem with the baby, and less than half a percent report that their abortion was because they became pregnant as a result of rape. 92% of abortions in America are purely elective — done on healthy women to end the lives of healthy children.”

Pro-choice advocates believe it is the women’s right to choose whether she will keep the child or not, and that should not be violated. Pro-Choice Ohio gives a list of what it means to support that term.

“You are pro-choice if you:

• Believe that reproductive health care decisions should be made by a woman, not by politicians.
• Support the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade and oppose any attempts to overturn or abridge it through judicial or legislative action.
• Oppose any legislation, referendum, or judicial activity that unnecessarily impedes a woman’s access to an abortion.
• Support access to affordable, reliable contraceptives.
• Support comprehensive, age-appropriate sex-education programs for youth.
• Support funding of abortions for low-income women who depend on government health care.
• Oppose government-imposed delays and state-scripted ‘counseling’ mandates.”

For pro-choice Ohioans, the hill just got a bit steeper.

'Heartbeat bill' abortion ban clears Ohio House, headed for Gov. John Kasichhttps://t.co/RxujtXBq9O

— clevelanddotcom (@clevelanddotcom) December 7, 2016

The “Heartbeat Bill” – which has been viewed as controversial to many – prohibits abortion when a heartbeat is detected. In Ohio, the “Viability Law” bans abortions after a fetus has become viable, and requires doctors to perform viability testing before undertaking an abortion on a fetus that is 20 or more weeks in gestation. Unless a physician determines in good faith that a fetus is not viable or to prevent the death or serious bodily injury of the pregnant women, it is considered illegal and can be subject to criminal charges.

The Columbus Dispatch reported the outrage that Pro-Choice Ohio had about the bill, which would make it a fifth-degree felony, punishable by up to one year, for a physician to perform an abortion without checking a heartbeat.

“The unconstitutional six-week abortion ban, known as the ‘Heartbeat Bill,’ would block access to safe and legal abortion before most women even know they’re pregnant. The amendment has no exceptions in the bill for rape, incest, or to protect the health of the woman and would criminalize doctors who perform abortion procedures, regardless of the reason.”

While Governor John Kasich did not exhibit a hard stance when asked about abortion issues during his presidential campaign, there are some who believe that Ohio’s laws on the topic speak for itself.

Politico reports that senior policy analyst Elizabeth Nash feels that Ohio has become “a testing ground for anti-abortion policies and restrictions on family planning services,” as well as “one of the most hostile places in the country.”

With Kasich being the deciding factor of whether abortions are going to be even more strict in Ohio, it does not seem to favor the pro-choice supporters, as seen by the immediate call to action by opponents. They can only hope that it will not be passed, while proponents of the bill wait patiently to see if their view on the issue will have more weight.

[Featured Image By Ann Sanner/AP Images]