COLUMBUS, Ohio - Governor Mike DeWine has signed a bill that would ban abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat.
WTOL 11 reports the governor signed the bill Thursday, a day after it cleared the state legislature. Ohio becomes the sixth state to ban abortions after a heartbeat is detected. Measures have recently passed in Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia. Bans have also been passed in Iowa and North Dakota but those have been blocked by the courts.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost applauded the Governor's action, saying in that abortion laws have lagged behind medical technology.
“Sometimes, the evolution of the law requires bold steps. In the last 46 years, the practice of medicine has changed. Science has changed. Even the point of viability has changed. Only the law has lagged behind. This law provides a stable, objective standard to guide the courts,” Yost said in a statement.
Opponents of the bill have promised to fight the law in court.