No topic seemed off limits, including tales of back alleys and coat hangers, as abortion-rights supporters in Ohio fought perhaps the last battle over a twice-vetoed heartbeat abortion ban, which Gov. Mike DeWine has said he will sign.

Both the House and Senate passed the bill on Wednesday, sending it on its way to DeWine’s desk.

But getting there wasn’t easy.

After nearly 10 years of fighting, Democrats let loose during the run-up to final House and Senate approval with lessons from slavery, predictions of economic harm, references to the book of Genesis, and testimonials about their own rapes.

Faith groups brandished banners and made pleas for religious tolerance. An advocate for reproductive rights threatened Republicans with the loss of young voters’ support in 2020.

TRENDING: Georgia Governor Will Sign Abortion Ban Despite Hollywood Outcry: ‘We Value Life in Our State’

Ohio’s closely divided politics slowed the progress of the so-called heartbeat bill as it has caught momentum elsewhere, forcing years of debate in the state where the movement originated.

Five other states have now passed similar abortion bans, two of which have been blocked by the courts. DeWine, who took office in January, has said he will sign the bill, after former GOP Gov. John Kasich vetoed it twice.

State Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, a Democrat, shed tears during the debate, exasperated at a bill she said would harm Ohio and its future.

“I’m concerned that we will have companies that will choose not to locate here due to our oppressive laws. I’m concerned that doctors will leave the state of Ohio,” she said.

“I’m concerned that our kids are going to leave, that we’re going to lose a large amount of young people who don’t want to live in an oppressive atmosphere.”

State Rep. Candice Keller, a Middletown Republican, called the legislation “the most compassionate bill we’ve ever passed.”

Keller rejected Democratic suggestions that everyone knows someone who has had, or will want to have, an abortion; that women will continue to have abortions, only unsafely; and Democratic arguments that abortion rights are about women’s rights.

“If we are really about empowering the women of Ohio and empowering the women of this country, we will begin to tell the truth about the abortion industry and the enormous amount of profit that is made on the backs of women,” she said.

During floor debate Wednesday, two female representatives who said they had been raped, slammed the bill for not making exceptions for rape and incest. Another female lawmaker said her great-grandmother bled to death in a bathtub trying self-administer an abortion.

House Health Committee Chairman Derek Merrin criticized those who say abortion drives down health care costs.

The procedure, he said, is simply wrong.

“My heart, Mr. Speaker, tells me it’s wrong. My understanding of the law and of the Constitution tells me it’s wrong. And in the spirit of fairness, equality, and justice, I know it’s wrong,” Merrin said.

Prohibiting abortions at the first detectable heartbeat means prohibiting virtually all abortions, said Dr. Michael Cackovic, a specialist in maternal fetal medicine at Ohio State University Medical Center. He said current standard practice, which involves transvaginal ultrasound, can reliably detect a heartbeat five to six weeks into pregnancy.

“Essentially, that’s three to four weeks after conception, or one to two weeks after a missed period,” he said.

Cackovic said the heartbeat prohibition would require women who want an abortion to determine they’re pregnant using an over-the-counter pregnancy test and the procedure between four and five weeks into pregnancy.

“You’re going to be doing more procedures and subjecting women to more procedures and medications to get abortions, because they’re rushing between that four and five weeks to get it accomplished,” he said.

About a third of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, he said, so the law also would force many women who don’t want to be pregnant to get abortions needlessly, when they might naturally have miscarried.

State Rep. Beth Liston, a Dublin Democrat and a pediatrician, said proponents’ hopes of challenging the viability standard upheld in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision aren’t grounded in science. She said she favors the idea from Genesis that breath begins life.

“Simply put, you need lungs and a brain to live, and there’s no technology in the world that will change that,” she said.

The earliest bans on heartbeat abortion, in Iowa and North Carolina, have been blocked by the courts. Three more states — Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia — have more recently passed bills amid growing national momentum. The Georgia bill has not yet been signed by the governor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>No topic seemed off limits, including tales of back alleys and coat hangers, as abortion-rights supporters in Ohio fought perhaps the last battle over a twice-vetoed heartbeat abortion ban, which Gov. Mike DeWine has said he will sign.

Both the House and Senate passed the bill on Wednesday, sending it on its way to DeWine’s desk.

But getting there wasn’t easy.

After nearly 10 years of fighting, Democrats let loose during the run-up to final House and Senate approval with lessons from slavery, predictions of economic harm, references to the book of Genesis, and testimonials about their own rapes.

Faith groups brandished banners and made pleas for religious tolerance. An advocate for reproductive rights threatened Republicans with the loss of young voters’ support in 2020.

TRENDING: Georgia Governor Will Sign Abortion Ban Despite Hollywood Outcry: ‘We Value Life in Our State’

Ohio’s closely divided politics slowed the progress of the so-called heartbeat bill as it has caught momentum elsewhere, forcing years of debate in the state where the movement originated.

Five other states have now passed similar abortion bans, two of which have been blocked by the courts. DeWine, who took office in January, has said he will sign the bill, after former GOP Gov. John Kasich vetoed it twice.

State Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, a Democrat, shed tears during the debate, exasperated at a bill she said would harm Ohio and its future.

“I’m concerned that we will have companies that will choose not to locate here due to our oppressive laws. I’m concerned that doctors will leave the state of Ohio,” she said.

“I’m concerned that our kids are going to leave, that we’re going to lose a large amount of young people who don’t want to live in an oppressive atmosphere.”

State Rep. Candice Keller, a Middletown Republican, called the legislation “the most compassionate bill we’ve ever passed.”

Keller rejected Democratic suggestions that everyone knows someone who has had, or will want to have, an abortion; that women will continue to have abortions, only unsafely; and Democratic arguments that abortion rights are about women’s rights.

“If we are really about empowering the women of Ohio and empowering the women of this country, we will begin to tell the truth about the abortion industry and the enormous amount of profit that is made on the backs of women,” she said.

During floor debate Wednesday, two female representatives who said they had been raped, slammed the bill for not making exceptions for rape and incest. Another female lawmaker said her great-grandmother bled to death in a bathtub trying self-administer an abortion.

House Health Committee Chairman Derek Merrin criticized those who say abortion drives down health care costs.

The procedure, he said, is simply wrong.

“My heart, Mr. Speaker, tells me it’s wrong. My understanding of the law and of the Constitution tells me it’s wrong. And in the spirit of fairness, equality, and justice, I know it’s wrong,” Merrin said.

Prohibiting abortions at the first detectable heartbeat means prohibiting virtually all abortions, said Dr. Michael Cackovic, a specialist in maternal fetal medicine at Ohio State University Medical Center. He said current standard practice, which involves transvaginal ultrasound, can reliably detect a heartbeat five to six weeks into pregnancy.

“Essentially, that’s three to four weeks after conception, or one to two weeks after a missed period,” he said.

Cackovic said the heartbeat prohibition would require women who want an abortion to determine they’re pregnant using an over-the-counter pregnancy test and the procedure between four and five weeks into pregnancy.

“You’re going to be doing more procedures and subjecting women to more procedures and medications to get abortions, because they’re rushing between that four and five weeks to get it accomplished,” he said.

About a third of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, he said, so the law also would force many women who don’t want to be pregnant to get abortions needlessly, when they might naturally have miscarried.

State Rep. Beth Liston, a Dublin Democrat and a pediatrician, said proponents’ hopes of challenging the viability standard upheld in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision aren’t grounded in science. She said she favors the idea from Genesis that breath begins life.

“Simply put, you need lungs and a brain to live, and there’s no technology in the world that will change that,” she said.

The earliest bans on heartbeat abortion, in Iowa and North Carolina, have been blocked by the courts. Three more states — Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia — have more recently passed bills amid growing national momentum. The Georgia bill has not yet been signed by the governor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>Ohio Gov. Bill DeWine has defiantly signed the “heartbeat” abortion ban into law, despite fierce opposition from Democrats.

The Republican governor signed the bill after the state legislature approved the legislation on Wednesday.

Foxnews.com reports: John Kasich, DeWine’s Republican predecessor, vetoed the measure twice while in office. He said such a law would create a costly court battle and likely be found unconstitutional.

Before DeWine signed the legislation Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said they were preparing a constitutional challenge to the law on behalf of Pre-Term Cleveland and three other Ohio abortion clinics.

“Similar versions of this unconstitutional abortion ban stand 0-4 in federal court. Soon to be 0-5,” the Ohio chapter tweeted, while the ACLU said: “We’ll see you in court.”

The bill — which makes no exceptions for rape or incest — is among the most restrictive abortion measures in the country.

Other states like Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississipi, Missouri, South Carolina and West Virginia are among the states that have either passed “heartbeat” legislation or are hoping to do so.

This comes as states like New York, New Mexico, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia, among other Democratic-leaning states, are supporting bills that allow abortion up to the moment of birth.</s>No topic seemed off limits, including tales of back alleys and coat hangers, as abortion-rights supporters in Ohio fought perhaps the last battle over a twice-vetoed heartbeat abortion ban, which Gov. Mike DeWine has said he will sign.

Both the House and Senate passed the bill on Wednesday, sending it on its way to DeWine’s desk.

But getting there wasn’t easy.

After nearly 10 years of fighting, Democrats let loose during the run-up to final House and Senate approval with lessons from slavery, predictions of economic harm, references to the book of Genesis, and testimonials about their own rapes.

Faith groups brandished banners and made pleas for religious tolerance. An advocate for reproductive rights threatened Republicans with the loss of young voters’ support in 2020.

TRENDING: Georgia Governor Will Sign Abortion Ban Despite Hollywood Outcry: ‘We Value Life in Our State’

Ohio’s closely divided politics slowed the progress of the so-called heartbeat bill as it has caught momentum elsewhere, forcing years of debate in the state where the movement originated.

Five other states have now passed similar abortion bans, two of which have been blocked by the courts. DeWine, who took office in January, has said he will sign the bill, after former GOP Gov. John Kasich vetoed it twice.

State Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, a Democrat, shed tears during the debate, exasperated at a bill she said would harm Ohio and its future.

“I’m concerned that we will have companies that will choose not to locate here due to our oppressive laws. I’m concerned that doctors will leave the state of Ohio,” she said.

“I’m concerned that our kids are going to leave, that we’re going to lose a large amount of young people who don’t want to live in an oppressive atmosphere.”

State Rep. Candice Keller, a Middletown Republican, called the legislation “the most compassionate bill we’ve ever passed.”

Keller rejected Democratic suggestions that everyone knows someone who has had, or will want to have, an abortion; that women will continue to have abortions, only unsafely; and Democratic arguments that abortion rights are about women’s rights.

“If we are really about empowering the women of Ohio and empowering the women of this country, we will begin to tell the truth about the abortion industry and the enormous amount of profit that is made on the backs of women,” she said.

During floor debate Wednesday, two female representatives who said they had been raped, slammed the bill for not making exceptions for rape and incest. Another female lawmaker said her great-grandmother bled to death in a bathtub trying self-administer an abortion.

House Health Committee Chairman Derek Merrin criticized those who say abortion drives down health care costs.

The procedure, he said, is simply wrong.

“My heart, Mr. Speaker, tells me it’s wrong. My understanding of the law and of the Constitution tells me it’s wrong. And in the spirit of fairness, equality, and justice, I know it’s wrong,” Merrin said.

Prohibiting abortions at the first detectable heartbeat means prohibiting virtually all abortions, said Dr. Michael Cackovic, a specialist in maternal fetal medicine at Ohio State University Medical Center. He said current standard practice, which involves transvaginal ultrasound, can reliably detect a heartbeat five to six weeks into pregnancy.

“Essentially, that’s three to four weeks after conception, or one to two weeks after a missed period,” he said.

Cackovic said the heartbeat prohibition would require women who want an abortion to determine they’re pregnant using an over-the-counter pregnancy test and the procedure between four and five weeks into pregnancy.

“You’re going to be doing more procedures and subjecting women to more procedures and medications to get abortions, because they’re rushing between that four and five weeks to get it accomplished,” he said.

About a third of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, he said, so the law also would force many women who don’t want to be pregnant to get abortions needlessly, when they might naturally have miscarried.

State Rep. Beth Liston, a Dublin Democrat and a pediatrician, said proponents’ hopes of challenging the viability standard upheld in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision aren’t grounded in science. She said she favors the idea from Genesis that breath begins life.

“Simply put, you need lungs and a brain to live, and there’s no technology in the world that will change that,” she said.

The earliest bans on heartbeat abortion, in Iowa and North Carolina, have been blocked by the courts. Three more states — Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia — have more recently passed bills amid growing national momentum. The Georgia bill has not yet been signed by the governor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>No topic seemed off limits, including tales of back alleys and coat hangers, as abortion-rights supporters in Ohio fought perhaps the last battle over a twice-vetoed heartbeat abortion ban, which Gov. Mike DeWine has said he will sign.

Both the House and Senate passed the bill on Wednesday, sending it on its way to DeWine’s desk.

But getting there wasn’t easy.

After nearly 10 years of fighting, Democrats let loose during the run-up to final House and Senate approval with lessons from slavery, predictions of economic harm, references to the book of Genesis, and testimonials about their own rapes.

Faith groups brandished banners and made pleas for religious tolerance. An advocate for reproductive rights threatened Republicans with the loss of young voters’ support in 2020.

TRENDING: Georgia Governor Will Sign Abortion Ban Despite Hollywood Outcry: ‘We Value Life in Our State’

Ohio’s closely divided politics slowed the progress of the so-called heartbeat bill as it has caught momentum elsewhere, forcing years of debate in the state where the movement originated.

Five other states have now passed similar abortion bans, two of which have been blocked by the courts. DeWine, who took office in January, has said he will sign the bill, after former GOP Gov. John Kasich vetoed it twice.

State Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, a Democrat, shed tears during the debate, exasperated at a bill she said would harm Ohio and its future.

“I’m concerned that we will have companies that will choose not to locate here due to our oppressive laws. I’m concerned that doctors will leave the state of Ohio,” she said.

“I’m concerned that our kids are going to leave, that we’re going to lose a large amount of young people who don’t want to live in an oppressive atmosphere.”

State Rep. Candice Keller, a Middletown Republican, called the legislation “the most compassionate bill we’ve ever passed.”

Keller rejected Democratic suggestions that everyone knows someone who has had, or will want to have, an abortion; that women will continue to have abortions, only unsafely; and Democratic arguments that abortion rights are about women’s rights.

“If we are really about empowering the women of Ohio and empowering the women of this country, we will begin to tell the truth about the abortion industry and the enormous amount of profit that is made on the backs of women,” she said.

During floor debate Wednesday, two female representatives who said they had been raped, slammed the bill for not making exceptions for rape and incest. Another female lawmaker said her great-grandmother bled to death in a bathtub trying self-administer an abortion.

House Health Committee Chairman Derek Merrin criticized those who say abortion drives down health care costs.

The procedure, he said, is simply wrong.

“My heart, Mr. Speaker, tells me it’s wrong. My understanding of the law and of the Constitution tells me it’s wrong. And in the spirit of fairness, equality, and justice, I know it’s wrong,” Merrin said.

Prohibiting abortions at the first detectable heartbeat means prohibiting virtually all abortions, said Dr. Michael Cackovic, a specialist in maternal fetal medicine at Ohio State University Medical Center. He said current standard practice, which involves transvaginal ultrasound, can reliably detect a heartbeat five to six weeks into pregnancy.

“Essentially, that’s three to four weeks after conception, or one to two weeks after a missed period,” he said.

Cackovic said the heartbeat prohibition would require women who want an abortion to determine they’re pregnant using an over-the-counter pregnancy test and the procedure between four and five weeks into pregnancy.

“You’re going to be doing more procedures and subjecting women to more procedures and medications to get abortions, because they’re rushing between that four and five weeks to get it accomplished,” he said.

About a third of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, he said, so the law also would force many women who don’t want to be pregnant to get abortions needlessly, when they might naturally have miscarried.

State Rep. Beth Liston, a Dublin Democrat and a pediatrician, said proponents’ hopes of challenging the viability standard upheld in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision aren’t grounded in science. She said she favors the idea from Genesis that breath begins life.

“Simply put, you need lungs and a brain to live, and there’s no technology in the world that will change that,” she said.

The earliest bans on heartbeat abortion, in Iowa and North Carolina, have been blocked by the courts. Three more states — Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia — have more recently passed bills amid growing national momentum. The Georgia bill has not yet been signed by the governor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>None of the six-week abortion bans have been enacted due to legal challenges.Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed the controversial ban, which is one of the most stringent in the country, on Thursday.Similar bills had been proposed in Ohio in the past, but the state's last Republican governor, John Kasich , vetoed those saying that they were unconstitutional.The legality of abortion bans that start at the point of 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."While no six-week ban has actually gone into effect , abortion advocates claim lawmakers push for "radical abortion bans" as "part of a deliberate strategy" to get legal challenges that could take an abortion case to the Supreme Court, as Elizabeth Nash, the senior state issues manager at the Guttmacher Institute, said on a conference call with reporters in late March The Planned Parenthood Action Fund reports that in the first three months of 2019, there were 16 states where a six-week abortion ban has been either filed, moved or signed into law.The debate over such a ban in Georgia is ongoing, and the state's legislature has approved of the bill but it is awaiting the governor's signature.One potentially unexpected group that came out against the Georgia bill is the Writers Guild of America East and West, which released a statement condemning the "draconian anti-choice measure."</s>No topic seemed off limits, including tales of back alleys and coat hangers, as abortion-rights supporters in Ohio fought perhaps the last battle over a twice-vetoed heartbeat abortion ban, which Gov. Mike DeWine has said he will sign.

Both the House and Senate passed the bill on Wednesday, sending it on its way to DeWine’s desk.

But getting there wasn’t easy.

After nearly 10 years of fighting, Democrats let loose during the run-up to final House and Senate approval with lessons from slavery, predictions of economic harm, references to the book of Genesis, and testimonials about their own rapes.

Faith groups brandished banners and made pleas for religious tolerance. An advocate for reproductive rights threatened Republicans with the loss of young voters’ support in 2020.

TRENDING: Georgia Governor Will Sign Abortion Ban Despite Hollywood Outcry: ‘We Value Life in Our State’

Ohio’s closely divided politics slowed the progress of the so-called heartbeat bill as it has caught momentum elsewhere, forcing years of debate in the state where the movement originated.

Five other states have now passed similar abortion bans, two of which have been blocked by the courts. DeWine, who took office in January, has said he will sign the bill, after former GOP Gov. John Kasich vetoed it twice.

State Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, a Democrat, shed tears during the debate, exasperated at a bill she said would harm Ohio and its future.

“I’m concerned that we will have companies that will choose not to locate here due to our oppressive laws. I’m concerned that doctors will leave the state of Ohio,” she said.

“I’m concerned that our kids are going to leave, that we’re going to lose a large amount of young people who don’t want to live in an oppressive atmosphere.”

State Rep. Candice Keller, a Middletown Republican, called the legislation “the most compassionate bill we’ve ever passed.”

Keller rejected Democratic suggestions that everyone knows someone who has had, or will want to have, an abortion; that women will continue to have abortions, only unsafely; and Democratic arguments that abortion rights are about women’s rights.

“If we are really about empowering the women of Ohio and empowering the women of this country, we will begin to tell the truth about the abortion industry and the enormous amount of profit that is made on the backs of women,” she said.

During floor debate Wednesday, two female representatives who said they had been raped, slammed the bill for not making exceptions for rape and incest. Another female lawmaker said her great-grandmother bled to death in a bathtub trying self-administer an abortion.

House Health Committee Chairman Derek Merrin criticized those who say abortion drives down health care costs.

The procedure, he said, is simply wrong.

“My heart, Mr. Speaker, tells me it’s wrong. My understanding of the law and of the Constitution tells me it’s wrong. And in the spirit of fairness, equality, and justice, I know it’s wrong,” Merrin said.

Prohibiting abortions at the first detectable heartbeat means prohibiting virtually all abortions, said Dr. Michael Cackovic, a specialist in maternal fetal medicine at Ohio State University Medical Center. He said current standard practice, which involves transvaginal ultrasound, can reliably detect a heartbeat five to six weeks into pregnancy.

“Essentially, that’s three to four weeks after conception, or one to two weeks after a missed period,” he said.

Cackovic said the heartbeat prohibition would require women who want an abortion to determine they’re pregnant using an over-the-counter pregnancy test and the procedure between four and five weeks into pregnancy.

“You’re going to be doing more procedures and subjecting women to more procedures and medications to get abortions, because they’re rushing between that four and five weeks to get it accomplished,” he said.

About a third of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, he said, so the law also would force many women who don’t want to be pregnant to get abortions needlessly, when they might naturally have miscarried.

State Rep. Beth Liston, a Dublin Democrat and a pediatrician, said proponents’ hopes of challenging the viability standard upheld in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision aren’t grounded in science. She said she favors the idea from Genesis that breath begins life.

“Simply put, you need lungs and a brain to live, and there’s no technology in the world that will change that,” she said.

The earliest bans on heartbeat abortion, in Iowa and North Carolina, have been blocked by the courts. Three more states — Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia — have more recently passed bills amid growing national momentum. The Georgia bill has not yet been signed by the governor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>A bill imposing one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the nation was signed into law in Ohio on Thursday, banning abortions after a detectable heartbeat in a long-sought victory for abortion opponents that drew an immediate constitutional challenge.

In signing the heartbeat bill, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine broke with his predecessor, Republican John Kasich, who had vetoed the measure twice on grounds that it was unconstitutional.

But DeWine defended Ohio Republicans' decision to push the boundaries of the law, because "it is the right thing to do."

"Taking this action really is a kind of a time-honored tradition, the constitutional tradition of making a good faith argument for modification or reversal of existing legal precedents," he said. "So that is what this is."

He said it's the government's job to protect the vulnerable. The bill outlaws abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which doctors say can be as early as five weeks into pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.

Ohio's closely divided politics had slowed the progress of the bill as it has caught momentum elsewhere , forcing years of debate in the state where the movement originated. Of five previous states that have passed heartbeat bills, three have seen their laws struck down or blocked by the courts, another faces a legal injunction and the fifth is awaiting governor's action.

DeWine's action came a day after the latest version of the bill cleared the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Even before the bill was signed, the ACLU of Ohio said it was preparing a constitutional challenge to the law on behalf of Pre-Term Cleveland and three other Ohio abortion clinics.

The legal challenge is what the bill's backers have always wanted. They hope to provoke a legal challenge with the potential to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion up until viability, usually at 22 to 24 weeks.

"The heartbeat bill is the next incremental step in our strategy to overturn Roe v. Wade," said Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis. "While other states embrace radical legislation to legalize abortion on demand through the ninth month of pregnancy, Ohio has drawn a line and continues to advance protections for unborn babies."

Kellie Copeland, director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said lawmakers and the governor have plunged the state into "a dystopian nightmare where people are forced to continue pregnancies regardless of the harm that may come to them or their family."

The law makes no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.

EMILY's List, a national group that supports candidates who favor abortion rights, also decried the Ohio bill, as did the Democratic National Committee.

DNC CEO Seema Nanda called it "the latest example of how the Trump administration's extremist, anti-women policies have emboldened legislators across the country to attack women's access to health care."

DeWine said his administration is committed to supporting pregnant women.

"I just want to make it very, very clear, our concern is not just for the unborn, our concern is for all individuals who need protection," he said. "It is our duty, I believe, and an essential function of government, to protect those who cannot protect themselves."</s>No topic seemed off limits, including tales of back alleys and coat hangers, as abortion-rights supporters in Ohio fought perhaps the last battle over a twice-vetoed heartbeat abortion ban, which Gov. Mike DeWine has said he will sign.

Both the House and Senate passed the bill on Wednesday, sending it on its way to DeWine’s desk.

But getting there wasn’t easy.

After nearly 10 years of fighting, Democrats let loose during the run-up to final House and Senate approval with lessons from slavery, predictions of economic harm, references to the book of Genesis, and testimonials about their own rapes.

Faith groups brandished banners and made pleas for religious tolerance. An advocate for reproductive rights threatened Republicans with the loss of young voters’ support in 2020.

TRENDING: Georgia Governor Will Sign Abortion Ban Despite Hollywood Outcry: ‘We Value Life in Our State’

Ohio’s closely divided politics slowed the progress of the so-called heartbeat bill as it has caught momentum elsewhere, forcing years of debate in the state where the movement originated.

Five other states have now passed similar abortion bans, two of which have been blocked by the courts. DeWine, who took office in January, has said he will sign the bill, after former GOP Gov. John Kasich vetoed it twice.

State Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, a Democrat, shed tears during the debate, exasperated at a bill she said would harm Ohio and its future.

“I’m concerned that we will have companies that will choose not to locate here due to our oppressive laws. I’m concerned that doctors will leave the state of Ohio,” she said.

“I’m concerned that our kids are going to leave, that we’re going to lose a large amount of young people who don’t want to live in an oppressive atmosphere.”

State Rep. Candice Keller, a Middletown Republican, called the legislation “the most compassionate bill we’ve ever passed.”

Keller rejected Democratic suggestions that everyone knows someone who has had, or will want to have, an abortion; that women will continue to have abortions, only unsafely; and Democratic arguments that abortion rights are about women’s rights.

“If we are really about empowering the women of Ohio and empowering the women of this country, we will begin to tell the truth about the abortion industry and the enormous amount of profit that is made on the backs of women,” she said.

During floor debate Wednesday, two female representatives who said they had been raped, slammed the bill for not making exceptions for rape and incest. Another female lawmaker said her great-grandmother bled to death in a bathtub trying self-administer an abortion.

House Health Committee Chairman Derek Merrin criticized those who say abortion drives down health care costs.

The procedure, he said, is simply wrong.

“My heart, Mr. Speaker, tells me it’s wrong. My understanding of the law and of the Constitution tells me it’s wrong. And in the spirit of fairness, equality, and justice, I know it’s wrong,” Merrin said.

Prohibiting abortions at the first detectable heartbeat means prohibiting virtually all abortions, said Dr. Michael Cackovic, a specialist in maternal fetal medicine at Ohio State University Medical Center. He said current standard practice, which involves transvaginal ultrasound, can reliably detect a heartbeat five to six weeks into pregnancy.

“Essentially, that’s three to four weeks after conception, or one to two weeks after a missed period,” he said.

Cackovic said the heartbeat prohibition would require women who want an abortion to determine they’re pregnant using an over-the-counter pregnancy test and the procedure between four and five weeks into pregnancy.

“You’re going to be doing more procedures and subjecting women to more procedures and medications to get abortions, because they’re rushing between that four and five weeks to get it accomplished,” he said.

About a third of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, he said, so the law also would force many women who don’t want to be pregnant to get abortions needlessly, when they might naturally have miscarried.

State Rep. Beth Liston, a Dublin Democrat and a pediatrician, said proponents’ hopes of challenging the viability standard upheld in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision aren’t grounded in science. She said she favors the idea from Genesis that breath begins life.

“Simply put, you need lungs and a brain to live, and there’s no technology in the world that will change that,” she said.

The earliest bans on heartbeat abortion, in Iowa and North Carolina, have been blocked by the courts. Three more states — Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia — have more recently passed bills amid growing national momentum. The Georgia bill has not yet been signed by the governor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>No topic seemed off limits, including tales of back alleys and coat hangers, as abortion-rights supporters in Ohio fought perhaps the last battle over a twice-vetoed heartbeat abortion ban, which Gov. Mike DeWine has said he will sign.

Both the House and Senate passed the bill on Wednesday, sending it on its way to DeWine’s desk.

But getting there wasn’t easy.

After nearly 10 years of fighting, Democrats let loose during the run-up to final House and Senate approval with lessons from slavery, predictions of economic harm, references to the book of Genesis, and testimonials about their own rapes.

Faith groups brandished banners and made pleas for religious tolerance. An advocate for reproductive rights threatened Republicans with the loss of young voters’ support in 2020.

TRENDING: Georgia Governor Will Sign Abortion Ban Despite Hollywood Outcry: ‘We Value Life in Our State’

Ohio’s closely divided politics slowed the progress of the so-called heartbeat bill as it has caught momentum elsewhere, forcing years of debate in the state where the movement originated.

Five other states have now passed similar abortion bans, two of which have been blocked by the courts. DeWine, who took office in January, has said he will sign the bill, after former GOP Gov. John Kasich vetoed it twice.

State Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, a Democrat, shed tears during the debate, exasperated at a bill she said would harm Ohio and its future.

“I’m concerned that we will have companies that will choose not to locate here due to our oppressive laws. I’m concerned that doctors will leave the state of Ohio,” she said.

“I’m concerned that our kids are going to leave, that we’re going to lose a large amount of young people who don’t want to live in an oppressive atmosphere.”

State Rep. Candice Keller, a Middletown Republican, called the legislation “the most compassionate bill we’ve ever passed.”

Keller rejected Democratic suggestions that everyone knows someone who has had, or will want to have, an abortion; that women will continue to have abortions, only unsafely; and Democratic arguments that abortion rights are about women’s rights.

“If we are really about empowering the women of Ohio and empowering the women of this country, we will begin to tell the truth about the abortion industry and the enormous amount of profit that is made on the backs of women,” she said.

During floor debate Wednesday, two female representatives who said they had been raped, slammed the bill for not making exceptions for rape and incest. Another female lawmaker said her great-grandmother bled to death in a bathtub trying self-administer an abortion.

House Health Committee Chairman Derek Merrin criticized those who say abortion drives down health care costs.

The procedure, he said, is simply wrong.

“My heart, Mr. Speaker, tells me it’s wrong. My understanding of the law and of the Constitution tells me it’s wrong. And in the spirit of fairness, equality, and justice, I know it’s wrong,” Merrin said.

Prohibiting abortions at the first detectable heartbeat means prohibiting virtually all abortions, said Dr. Michael Cackovic, a specialist in maternal fetal medicine at Ohio State University Medical Center. He said current standard practice, which involves transvaginal ultrasound, can reliably detect a heartbeat five to six weeks into pregnancy.

“Essentially, that’s three to four weeks after conception, or one to two weeks after a missed period,” he said.

Cackovic said the heartbeat prohibition would require women who want an abortion to determine they’re pregnant using an over-the-counter pregnancy test and the procedure between four and five weeks into pregnancy.

“You’re going to be doing more procedures and subjecting women to more procedures and medications to get abortions, because they’re rushing between that four and five weeks to get it accomplished,” he said.

About a third of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, he said, so the law also would force many women who don’t want to be pregnant to get abortions needlessly, when they might naturally have miscarried.

State Rep. Beth Liston, a Dublin Democrat and a pediatrician, said proponents’ hopes of challenging the viability standard upheld in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision aren’t grounded in science. She said she favors the idea from Genesis that breath begins life.

“Simply put, you need lungs and a brain to live, and there’s no technology in the world that will change that,” she said.

The earliest bans on heartbeat abortion, in Iowa and North Carolina, have been blocked by the courts. Three more states — Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia — have more recently passed bills amid growing national momentum. The Georgia bill has not yet been signed by the governor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signs a bill that restricts abortion after a detectable heartbeat. The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said it was preparing a constitutional challenge to the law.