COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two pieces of legislation that generated a lot of interest and debate ended up sinking quietly beneath the waves in the Ohio House Wednesday.
Supporters of the so-called “heartbeat bill” fell short of the 50 votes needed for passage of the measure that would have imposed some of the nation’s most stringent abortion restrictions.
And, a western Ohio lawmaker’s last-ditch effort to insert a repeal of Common Core education standards into another bill failed.
Representatives voted 47-40 on the abortion legislation, would prohibit most abortions after the first detectable heartbeat, or as early as six weeks into pregnancy. Similar measures have faced legal challenges elsewhere.
The divisive measure passed the House last session but died in the Ohio Senate. It failed to get traction in this General Assembly until last month, when a GOP-led House Health Committee passed the bill after several emotional hours of testimony and debate.
Seeking a floor vote, backers had unsuccessfully attempted to insert the abortion proposal into other bills before the two-year legislative session comes to a close.
State Rep. John Adams (R-Sidney) tried to add language repealing the Common Core standards into legislation dealing with high school world history courses during a floor session but the bill had already been amended once and so could not technically be amended again. That prevented Adams from being successful, with House Speaker William Batchelder ruling his proposed change out of order.
Adams and other Common Core opponents had hoped to pass legislation this session repealing and replacing the standards. With the Senate expected to adjourn Thursday, that effort appears dead.