Future of Heartbeat Bill dim

COLUMBUS

Republicans in the Ohio House made a smart move when they passed the Heartbeat Bill, legislation that would prohibit abortions within weeks of conception.

They also likely caused some headaches for the Ohio Senate, where that bill will linger and draw unwanted attention and vocal criticism from supporters of the proposed law change.

The House OK’d comparable legislation several years back, when it was first introduced, but the bill stalled that time in the Ohio Senate, with hints of action that didn’t come to fruition before the session ended.

That lack of action led to prayer sessions and protests at the Statehouse by backers of the bill, upset that pro-life lawmakers weren’t moving what they consider to be the legal means to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

There were mailings and newspaper ads smacking Republican senators for their inaction.

At one point, proponents inflated a 30-foot heart in downtown Columbus, along with a near-life-size rhinoceros, the latter a poke at “Republicans in name only,” or RINOs.

It wasn’t the sort of publicity any GOP lawmaker wants during an election season.

The Ohio House did bring the Heartbeat Bill up for a second vote late last year, during an odd display on the floor that ended with a Republican-backed bill falling short of the needed support for passage.

Flash forward to this session, with new House leadership and a renewed effort to act on the legislation.

The chamber played host to civil committee hearings, with lengthy and sometimes emotional testimony from proponents, opponents and other interested parties.

On the floor last week, members from both sides of the issue offered heartfelt comments about their position.

As expected, the House passed the bill on a vote of 55-40, with one Democrat joining supporters and 10 Republicans opposing.

And with that, less than three months into the new session, the Ohio House can wash its hands of the Heartbeat Bill and move onto other matters, including a handful of other abortion-related law changes that likely will see action.

That means no ugly campaign mailings or commercials for the Republicans in the chamber who voted for the bill and no stumbling through explanations on why the legislation wasn’t moving.

Which brings us, now, to the Ohio Senate, where Republicans are facing the same situation as a few years ago.

Members didn’t support the bill then, and I haven’t heard much to indicate enough are supporting the bill this time around to ensure its passage.

Committee assignment

Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina, said the Heartbeat Bill would be assigned to a committee and duly considered.

He didn’t put the kibosh on the bill immediately after the House vote, but he didn’t offer assurances of a floor vote in his chamber, either.

“Conceptually, I’m for the concepts behind the Heartbeat Bill, always have been,” he said. “But I just don’t think it’s the right political or legal strategy. I think there is danger of unsettling and frankly harming babies with the bill because of the consequences of that being overturned.”

He added, “We’ll see. We’ll have the debate. We’ll hear from legal experts, legal scholars, all of which I don’t think happened in the House. I’m still waiting for that legal scholar to come forward and say the Heartbeat Bill is constitutional.”

Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correspondent. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.