House Bill 125, which was approved by the House in June, would ban abortions for women after a fetal heartbeat can be detected medically, usually six to seven weeks into a pregnancy. Sponsors say it would give Ohio the nation’s most-restrictive anti-abortion law; critics charge it is blatantly unconstitutional and unlikely to withstand a court challenge.
State Rep. Lynn R Wachtmann, R-Napoleon, sponsor of the bill, said he’s confident it will weather legal challenges.
“If I felt the courts would strike this down, I would not carry it forward,” he said.
One witness, Dr. Carmen Doty-Armstrong, an obstetrician-gynecologist from Findlay, said a heartbeat “is an indicator of life we cannot ignore. ... When there is a living heartbeat, it deserves to be protected.”
However, legal questions about the proposal were raised in the Senate Health, Human Services & Aging Committee hearing, one linked to state Issue 3. The constitutional amendment approved by voters last month prohibits compelling anyone to receive heath care or participate in a health-care system.
Maurice Thompson, executive director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, didn’t take a position on the heartbeat bill. But Thompson, whose organization wrote Issue 3, said the amendment could “very well” be construed by the courts to affect a medical decision preventing an abortion.
Thompson said passage of the anti-abortion bill as written could be “rolling the dice” in terms of passing constitutional muster.
That echoes the position taken by the American Civil Liberties Union and NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, both of which oppose the heartbeat measure.
The only silent witness was Halley Carolina Glockner, an infant who was carried into the hearing room by a smiling Sen. Cliff Hite, R-Findlay. Halley’s mother, Erin Glockner of Pataskala, underwent an ultrasound exam during an appearance at a House committee meeting in March.
“You heard her heart then and now you can see her face and look into her eyes,” said Ducia Hamm, of the Ashland Care Center. “This child deserved to have her heart continue to beat.”
David F. Forte, a Cleveland State University law professor who helped write the heartbeat legislation, said it is based on an individual’s right to be protected from harm.
“This bill is ready to make history,” he said.
Michelle McCauley of Sylvania told the committee she regrets having had two abortions. She said she now counsels women after abortions.
“Not one woman that I have counseled has ever said she was glad she had an abortion,” McCauley said. “It kills and destroys both the baby and the mother.”
The proposal has created a rift among abortion opponents, pitting a fledgling, conservative coalition called Faith2Action, led by Janet Porter, against the long-established Ohio Right to Life movement.
Linda Theis of new Right to Life rival Ohio ProLife Action told the committee, “The time has come to stop the killing. This is your invitation to do that, senators.”
Also testifying for the bill was Dr. Jack Willke, founder of the national and Ohio Right to Life. He said the time is ripe for the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion in the U.S.
But Stephanie Krider, director of legislative affairs for Ohio Right to Life, said the heartbeat bill is “likely to backfire” and could result in a setback for the anti-abortion-rights movement.
“Let’s not let emotion blind us from reality,” she said.
The committee is expected to hear from opponents of the heartbeat bill next week.
