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Heartbeat Bill Is Not At The Top Of Ohio House's Agenda

The leader of the Ohio House says the controversial Heartbeat Bill, which bans abortion at the point a fetal heartbeat is detected, is not a priority. But he says lawmakers there want to pass it. 

Speaker Larry Householder says most of his members will vote for the Heartbeat Bill but there is a caveat.

“It will not be one of our top agenda items in the House but it will be something members want to do and we will do it but it has to start in the Senate," Householder says.

Two women Senators are set to sponsor the bill. It was vetoed twice by former Gov. John Kasich, but Gov. Mike DeWine has said he will sign it. And for the first time, it will have the backing of Ohio Right to Life, the state’s largest anti-abortion group. That organization said recent appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court made it more conservative and more likely to overturn Roe vs Wade.

Copyright 2019 The Statehouse News Bureau

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.