The AP has reported today from Columbus:
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Gov. John Kasich signed a bill Tuesday imposing a 20-week abortion ban while vetoing stricter provisions in a separate measure that would have barred the procedure at the first detectable fetal heartbeat.
Ohio lawmakers rejected a Democratic amendment that would have added exceptions for rape and incest.
NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio said the 20-week ban would allow abortions only if a woman is on the brink of death or suffering permanent organ damage.
Ohio Right To Life praised Kasich for signing the ban, saying it would save “hundreds of unborn lives each year” and allow Ohio to directly challenge the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion until viability, usually at 22 to 24 weeks.
Read more at the Associated Press…
Also read this from the PBSNewshour:
ABORTION AND THE OHIO GOVERNOR
By Lisa Desjardins, correspondent
@LisaDNews
Late today, Ohio Governor John Kasich made a significant political and legislative decision: He vetoed a bill that would ban abortion in his state starting as early as six weeks into the pregnancy. Kasich signed a separate bill that would ban the procedure starting at 20 weeks.
The decision comes as opponents of abortion have openly declared a new sense of vigor. Ohio lawmakers said they were passing the six-week ban because the election of Donald Trump gave them hope that a future Supreme Court could uphold such laws, which until now have been rejected by courts. (The Supreme Court standard, established in Casey v. Planned Parenthood, focuses on when a fetus is viable.)
A quick word on why this matters. Kasich, who ran against Trump in the 2016 GOP primaries, is on record saying that he was concerned that the six-week ban would not pass constitutional muster. And he is known as a committed anti-abortion Republican. The question now is how those in the movement will react. Will Kasich be seen as a veteran voice to consider among abortion foes? Or as a traitor to the cause?
This is an important test for abortion opponents on the right as they consider how far to push under President Trump. And it’s an important moment for Mr. Trump, who we know pays attention to things like momentum and the sense of the crowd.
