Leader suspends hearings on Ohio ’heartbeat’ bill

Leader suspends hearings on Ohio ’heartbeat’ bill

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The leader of the Ohio Senate says he’s suspending hearings on a bill that would ban abortions at the first detectable fetal heartbeat so lawmakers can consider changing the measure.

If passed into law, the bill would impose the nation’s most stringent abortion limit.

Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus said today that supporters of the bill gave him more than 20 proposed amendments.

He says in a statement that the revisions “only serve to create more uncertainty about a very contentious issue.”

Niehaus did not specify how much time is needed to weigh the revisions. He says he could not move forward on a bill that “has so far created more confusion than consensus.”

The legislation passed the GOP-led Ohio House in June. It’s been stalled in the Senate.