Ohio Republican lawmakers plan to introduce a bill on Wednesday that would ban nearly all abortions and make the procedure a criminal offense.
Called the Ohio Prenatal Equal Protection Act, the bill aims to overturn a 2023 amendment to the Ohio Constitution. That amendment currently guarantees “an individual right to one’s own reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion” before viability.
Reproductive medical treatment also includes contraception, fertility treatments, and miscarriage care.
Currently, abortions are allowed up to 20 weeks after fertilization, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group focused on sexual and reproductive health.
Austin Beigel, an anti-abortion advocate with End Abortion Ohio, praised the bill. He told ABC News, “It is a very, very simple and beautiful piece of legislation. It recognizes all human beings, born and unborn, as persons deserving equal protection under the law starting at fertilization.”
However, Kellie Copeland, executive director of Abortion Forward—which helped pass the 2023 amendment—criticized the bill. She called it “the most extreme and anti-life legislation you can imagine” and said it would strip Ohioans of their constitutionally guaranteed right to bodily autonomy.
Beigel dismissed concerns that the bill conflicts with voter will. “The will of the voters was evil,” he said. “In our country’s history, the majority has often supported evil things, such as discrimination. I oppose the will of the people when they desire something evil.”
Copeland responded, “Taking away basic human rights and bodily autonomy is the real evil here.”
The bill’s sponsors include Republican state Representatives Levi Dean and Jonathan Newman. Beigel said they will announce co-sponsors on Wednesday. Neither Dean’s nor Newman’s offices responded to ABC News’ requests for comment.
The bill would ban abortion without exceptions for rape or incest. The only exceptions would be for spontaneous miscarriage or to save the life of the pregnant woman. It also criminalizes those who have abortions, not just the providers.
Copeland warned that equating reproductive health care with murder could incite violence against abortion supporters and those who have had abortions.
Beigel said the bill does not ban contraception and is not intended to outlaw in-vitro fertilization (IVF), but noted IVF might be affected because the bill grants equal protection to “pre-born humans.” He added, “The courts will have to debate whether it is moral to freeze a young human being and not let them grow.”
Background: Ohio’s Abortion Laws
In 2019, Ohio passed a “heartbeat bill” banning abortions after cardiac activity is detected, as early as six weeks into pregnancy—often before many women know they are pregnant. The law had no exceptions for rape or incest, only allowing abortions for ectopic pregnancies or to save the mother’s life or bodily functions.
The ban was blocked by a federal judge but reinstated shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
In November 2023, Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights by 57%. Since the amendment took effect in December 2023, much of the six-week ban has been deemed unconstitutional, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
Still, some lawmakers have tried to uphold parts of the ban, such as reporting requirements and a 24-hour waiting period before abortions. An Ohio judge temporarily blocked the waiting period in August 2024.
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