In the state of Ohio, legislators passed a so-called “heartbeat bill” on 7 December 2016 that bans abortion with no exceptions after a fetal heartbeat can be heard – thought to be at around six weeks into a pregnancy.The bill was tacked on at the last minute to another bill addressing child abuse. It was approved in the Republican-dominated state House and Senate, and will now be sent to the anti-abortion Republican Governor John Kasich’s desk. He has to sign or veto it within the next 10 days.There is little or no doubt that the bill is unconstitutional. But it is only part of an unending stream of anti-abortion legislation that wastes legislative and court time and resources in the USA and ties the abortion rights movement up in knots in defensive action. Such “laws” are a marker of the deep, punitive hatred of women that has permeated the US Republican Party, like a disease, for many years now.The American Civil Liberties Union Ohio have announced they will oppose the law if it is signed by the governor. And so it begins…SOURCE: Buzzfeed News, by Ema O’Connor, 7 December 2016 ; PHOTO
