The overturning of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision has allowed Ohio’s “heartbeat bill” that bans most abortions to take effect.
The bill had been signed by Gov. Mike DeWine, but a U.S. District Court injunction had prevented the measure from being enforced. Ohio Attorney General David Yost asked the federal court to dissolve the injunction soon after the Supreme Court ruling was announced on June 24, and the lower court agreed.
The bill, now a law, makes abortion illegal in Ohio after an infant’s heartbeat can be detected, which usually occurs about six weeks into pregnancy. Exceptions are in cases where an abortion is “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman” or “to prevent a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.”
The bill lists three conditions that pose a serious risk to a pregnant woman: pre-eclampsia, inevitable abortion and premature rupture of the membranes. Those conditions might include, but are not limited to, diabetes and multiple sclerosis.
Ectopic pregnancies also are exempt from the six-week restriction. These occur when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the uterus. The egg will not survive when this occurs, and it can be life-threatening to the pregnant woman.
Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations asked the Ohio Supreme Court to block the heartbeat law from taking effect, saying the Ohio Constitution contains the right to abortion, but the court rejected the request on July 1 in an unsigned opinion.
Currently before the Legislature are House Bill 598, titled the Human Life Protection Act, and Senate Bill 123, a nearly identical measure, both of which were based on the assumption that Roe v. Wade would be overturned. The bills would ban doctors from performing medication abortions or surgical abortions, except to save a woman’s life. There is no exception for pregnancies as the result of rape or incest.
Also being considered, but not yet introduced in the Legislature, are proposed bans related to the use of the “abortion pill” (a combination of two medications) and the involvement of telemedicine and online pharmacies in abortions.
Ohio is one of a small number of states that regulates the abortion pill combination. Often called a medical abortion, the combined use of mifepristone and misoprostol is different than hormonal contraception or emergency contraception, in that it works to end a known pregnancy.
The first pill in the regimen blocks a woman’s body from producing progesterone, effectively suffocating the unborn child. The second pill induces labor.
Ohio lawmakers also are contemplating legislation to block abortion inducing pills from coming into Ohio illegally.
“The abortion pill can actually be incredibly dangerous for women,” said Beth Vanderkooi, executive director of Greater Columbus Right to Life, “especially when it is obtained illegally or provided via telemedicine. Ohio women have experienced hundreds of complications from the abortion pill in the last few years.
“In addition to risks such as hemorrhage, incomplete abortion and infection, the abortion pill puts women at risk when taken during ectopic pregnancies, and if mom and baby have incompatibilities in their blood type, it can cause mom’s body to attack future pregnancies.
“If you know anyone who has taken the abortion pill and regrets it, there is a protocol that can potentially reverse it if started within three days.”
To learn more, visit www.abortionpillreversal.com.