Abortion measure hearings suspended

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

The leader of the Ohio Senate said Wednesday that he’s suspending hearings on a bill that would ban abortions at the first detectable fetal heartbeat, saying amendments proposed by supporters have created confusion.

Supporters of the bill have handed senators more than 20 proposed amendments, said Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus, a New Richmond Republican.

“These eleventh hour revisions only serve to create more uncertainty about a very contentious issue,” Niehaus said in a statement.

The so-called heartbeat bill passed the GOP-led Ohio House in June. It’s been stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate, where initial hearings on the bill began last week.

Niehaus did not specify how much time would be needed to weigh the supporter’s revisions. But he said he could not move forward on a bill that “has so far created more confusion than consensus.”

The measure would outlaw abortions at the first detectable fetal heartbeat — sometimes as early as six weeks into pregnancy.

Should it become law, the bill would impose the nation’s most stringent abortion limit.