Kasich veto sets up Ohio showdown over abortion limit

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio has moved again to impose some of the most far-reaching abortion restrictions in the nation, after Republican Gov. John Kasich signed a ban today on dilation and evacuation terminations and set up a showdown with lawmakers over his veto of the so-called heartbeat bill.

Kasich had previously signed 20 abortion-limiting proposals into law in this politically divided state since taking office in 2011, including a 20-week ban that both sides agree is unconstitutional. The number of full-service Ohio abortion clinics has shrunk from 16 to seven since he took office.

But the heartbeat bill has twice proven too extreme for Kasich, a potential 2020 presidential candidate who's spent the past two years in a quest for bipartisan consensus.

The measure calls for banning the procedure once a fetal heartbeat is detected. That can happen as early as six weeks into pregnancy. Kasich vetoed a similar bill two years ago and did so again Friday.

In a veto message, he said the heartbeat bill is likely to be struck down as unconstitutional – but only after a costly court fight.

"The State of Ohio will be the losing party in that lawsuit and, as the losing party, the State of Ohio will be forced to pay hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to cover the legal fees for the pro-choice activists' lawyers," he wrote.

Ohio lawmakers return to Columbus on Thursday to consider overrides of several Kasich vetoes, although it's unclear whether they'll have enough votes to override the heartbeat bill veto. Among factors are vacation schedules and the fact that Kasich's successor, Gov.-elect Mike DeWine, has said he would sign a heartbeat bill once he takes the helm.

Kasich signed the ban on dilation and evacuation terminations, a procedure known as D&E that is a common second-trimester abortion method. Similar laws have been rejected by the courts.