Even Anti-Abortion Governor Kasich Couldn’t Sign This Extreme Abortion Measure

And Ohio lawmakers were one vote short to override his veto.

Protesters march in Columbus, Ohio, earlier this month to protest the controversial "fetal heartbeat ban," which would have prohibited abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.Matthew Hatcher/SOPA Images/ZUMA Wire

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Despite efforts of conservative lawmakers and activists, the Ohio Legislature failed on Thursday to override a veto by Republican Gov. John Kasich on controversial abortion bill HB 258, also known as the “fetal heartbeat ban,” after passing it earlier this month. The measure, considered one of the most restrictive in the country, would have banned abortions after a fetal heartbeat is heard, which can happen as early as six weeks into pregnancy. Opponents of the bill argued it essentially would have amounted to a ban on abortion, as many women don’t know they are pregnant by the six-week mark.

When the measure passed, it was unclear if the Legislature could gather enough votes to cancel a veto by the governor. Although the House on Thursday had enough votes to nullify the veto, the Senate came up one vote short.

Despite his history as an anti-abortion politician, Kasich said in his veto message that the bill would likely be struck down as unconstitutional. As my colleague Rosa Furneaux has reported about Ohio’s success in limiting access to abortion:

For years, Ohio politicians have slowly whittled away at a woman’s legal right to end her pregnancy. In 1995, Ohio was the first state to ban so-called partial-birth abortion, an imprecise term for a rare procedure used late in pregnancy. A federal court struck down the law, which nevertheless set off a wave of copycat legislation nationwide. In 2003, President George W. Bush signed the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, outlawing the procedure.

Kasich has signed 20 anti-abortion measures since 2011, according to NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio. These include a ban on abortion after 20 weeks and a law that makes it a criminal offense for women to abort a fetus that may have Down syndrome. Women have to have two in-person doctor’s appointments prior to receiving an abortion and must undergo a state-mandated ultrasound. State-funded rape crisis counselors are not allowed to refer women to abortion services. Kasich has also imposed burdensome requirements on abortion clinics, which now have to have a patient-transfer agreement with a local private hospital. The various restrictions have contributed to the closure of eight of the state’s 16 facilities over seven years.

According to local news reports, Republican state Sen. Mike Beagle cast the crucial “no” vote that prevented the override from succeeding despite voting in favor of the legislation when it first passed. Beagle told a local news station after the vote that he didn’t think the bill met the standards necessary to pass.

However, the defeat of this effort may be only temporary. Incoming Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has said he was prepared to sign the legislation if it comes to his desk next year.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate