Source: Pattanaphong Khuankaew / EyeEm / Getty
Ohio Governor Signs Heartbeat Bill Restricting Abortion
According to ABC News, Ohio has now added itself to a growing list of states that have signed a ban on abortions after a heartbeat can be detected.
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed the extremely controversial ban, which is one of the most stringent in the country, earlier this week. Similar bills were almost pushed through in Ohio in the past, but the state’s last Republican governor, John Kasich, vetoed those saying that they were unconstitutional.
“The essential function of government is to protect the most vulnerable among us, those who do not have a voice,” said Gov. DeWine about signing the bill. “Government’s rule should be to protect life from the beginning to the end, to protect those who cannot protect themselves. … The signing of this bill today is consistent with that respect for life.”
The abortion ban is said to take effect once a detectable heartbeat — which can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy when some women may not know that they are pregnant — has been challenged in a number of other states.
As soon as DeWine signed the Ohio bill into law, the state’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced that they will be challenging it in court.
“This legislation is blatantly unconstitutional and we will fight to the bitter end to ensure that this bill is permanently blocked,” said Freda Levenson, the legal director of the ACLU of Ohio, in a statement. “SB 23 is one of the most aggressive, oppressive, and radical attacks against women ever seen in this state and this country.”