Ohio: 'Heartbeat bill' restricting abortion clears committee, headed to full House for debate
A House panel voted this morning to send the "heartbeat bill," which would place steep restrictions on access to abortion, to the full House.
The controversial bill, approved by a vote of 11-6, would prohibit abortion once a fetal heartbeat has been detected, as early as six weeks into a woman's pregnancy. Anti-abortion advocates are divided on the bill, which some say would trigger court challenges certain to fail.
The vote by the Health and Aging Committee to push the bill to floor came following testimony in which the threat of a lawsuit against the state was made clear.
Gary Daniels of the American Civil Liberties Union in Ohio told legislators if the state enacts the heartbeat bill his organization will challenge it in court.
Federal courts have already declared similar bills in Arkansas and North Dakota unconstitutional. Those cases are pending at the appellate level.
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Columbus pediatrician Dennis Doody, testifying for the bill, was quizzed by Rep. John Carney, a Columbus Democrat, about his medical expertise. Ultimately Wachtmann gaveled an end to the questioning, telling Carney it wasn't an interrogation.
Jaime Miracle, policy director for NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said it is clear the bill was designed to challenge Roe vs. Wade before the Supreme Court "at the expense of the Ohio taxpayer," she said.
"What this bill is is a radical ban on abortion that would outlaw the procedure at a point where most women do not even know they are pregnant yet," Miracle said.
She accused the committee of trying to push through the bill in a "sneaky way" by rushing it to a vote. Why else, she asked, would the bill be given limited testimony with a vote already set for a certain time.
Wachtmann's reply: "Because the chair chooses to do so."
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