Ohio lawmakers approve 20-week abortion ban

Ohio legislators approved a second pro-life bill this week, one that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of gestation instead of about 22 days.

The Ohio House passed Senate Bill 127, known as the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” in a 64-29 vote Thursday. The so-called “heartbeat bill,” passed earlier this week, seeks to ban abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually around 22 days of gestation. The 20-week abortion ban would roll back the current Ohio law that prohibits abortions after 24 weeks.

Ohio Right to Life began advocating for a 20-week abortion ban in 2015 based on the stage of gestation at which babies can feel pain. The current 24-week mark uses the standard of when babies can typically survive outside the womb. But as babies survive at earlier and earlier dates, pro-life leaders would like to see pain capability become a new standard in hopes of shortening the legal window for abortion as much as possible.

“We believe that this [20-week abortion ban] is the strongest way to challenge the increasingly unworkable viability standard set in Roe v. Wade,” Ohio Right to Life’s spokeswoman Katherine Franklin told me. “When enacted, this legislation will immediately save hundreds of lives in Ohio, and will be part of a national movement that will save thousands.”

Multiple other states have 20-week abortion bans, and Ohio Right to Life leaders believe Ohio’s bill, if it becomes law, can survive challenges in the courts.

The heartbeat bill would also likely see legal challenges; federal courts ruled similar bills in North Dakota and Arkansas were unconstitutional. Cincinnati Right to Life helped sponsor the heartbeat bill. Director Paula Westwood told me her organization supports both bills and hopes both get signed into law.

“Ideally, we would protect babies from conception, but heartbeat does move it a lot closer,” she said. She expects legal challenges to both bills, “But we’re used to that,” she said. “We’re up for it.”