COLUMBUS — Ohio lawmakers have taken a major step toward making it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion based on a diagnosis of Down syndrome.
Two other states have passed similar prohibitions in an expanding national push that’s triggered emotional debate over women’s rights and the trust between doctor and patient.
Ohio senators approved the bill Wednesday. Lawmakers have now sent it to the governor.
The legislation was a priority for the state’s largest anti-abortion group, Ohio Right to Life.
The Down Syndrome Non-Discrimination Act passed the Senate floor and is headed to the Governor’s desk! pic.twitter.com/82VYBNJStj
— Ohio Right to Life (@ohiolife) December 13, 2017
The bill, according to the Legislative Service Commission, does not specifically prohibit aborting a fetus with Down syndrome, but it applies to why the mother desires an abortion and whether the person performing it knows the mother’s reasons, according to a report in The Columbus Dispatch.
“A prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome should not mean a death sentence,” Mike Gonidakis, executive director of Ohio Right to Life, said in a release following the 20-12 vote. “Thanks to our pro-life legislators, we are one step closer to ensuring that Ohioans with Down syndrome are recognized as humans worthy of dignity, just as they are.”
Violators would face a fourth-degree felony and the state Medical Board would revoke a convicted physician’s license to practice medicine in Ohio. The bill protects a pregnant woman from facing criminal charges under law.
The measure makes performing such abortions a fourth-degree felony and requires the state medical board to revoke a physician’s license if convicted. Women involved in such procedures wouldn’t be penalized.
Opponents like Jamie Miracle, deputy director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio argue the bill takes away a woman’s right to make her own health-care decisions.
“This bill really prevents women from having honest conversations about her option with her physician following a complicated medical diagnosis,” she said. “This legislation callously disregards the unique circumstances that surround each woman’s pregnancy.”
Abortion-rights activists staged a silent protest in the Senate chamber after its approval. They wore T-shirts spelling out “Stop the Bans.”
North Dakota and Indiana have passed similar laws, although the Indiana measure was blocked by a federal judge in September.
Down syndrome is a genetic disorder and the most common chromosomal condition in the United States, inflicting about 1 in 700 babies in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.