Opponents of the "Heartbeat Bill," which would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, rallied outside the Ohio Statehouse while supporters gathered inside for a Senate committee hearing.
Opponents say the bill would deny access to legal abortions before many women know they are pregnant.
Ohio State medical student Erica Reese talked about a woman she met named Anna, who had to decide whether to abort the fetus that was unlikely to survive or complete her pregnancy with people asking painful questions.
“Those 20 weeks would result in Anna having to go through an impossibly hard labor to deliver a stillborn," Reese said. "This sentence being handed down to our fellow sisters is both cruel and unusual.”
The Ohio House passed the measure in November.
The bill could go to the Senate floor for a vote later this week. Gov. John Kasich says he’ll veto it, just as he did two years ago. But lawmakers insist they’ll have the votes this time to override a possible veto.
