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Ohio officials say they'll move on 'heartbeat bill' if Supreme Court strikes down abortion case

By Karen Kasler

Published May 9, 2022 at 5:39 PM EDT

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. [Karen Kasler / Statehouse News Bureau] — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

Ohio will almost certainly have strict limitations on abortion in short order if the US Supreme Court does as a draft opinion published last week says and allows states to set their own regulations on the procedure. That’s even if Republican lawmakers haven’t passed the so-called “trigger ban” on abortion that they’re considering.

Republican Attorney General Dave Yost said the six-week ban known as the “heartbeat bill” was halted by a federal court because of the Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey rulings that upheld abortion rights.

“If Roe and Casey do in fact get overturned, then I would anticipate that we would move to lift that stay and that law passed by the general assembly would become effective," Yost said.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has said he would sign a total abortion ban that would be triggered by the overturning of Roe, which would make the six week abortion ban moot. 13 states already have "trigger" bans in place.

DeWine signed the "heartbeat bill" in 2019, after former Gov. John Kasich vetoed a previous version of it in 2018, just before leaving office. DeWine wouldn't say then if he would sign a total ban on abortion, only that: “We need to wait and see what happens in the in the United States Supreme Court before we do anything else."

That was before the rushed appointment by former president Trump of Amy Coney Barrett in 2020, following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was appointed by former president Clinton in 1993.

Several states also have what have been called "zombie" abortion bans - laws that were on the books when the Roe decision came down in 1973. They haven't been enforced, but haven't been repealed either. Those could be revived if Roe is overturned. Yost said he's unaware if Ohio has such laws.

That trigger ban is sponsored by a third of House Republicans, but there’s only been one hearing, and the Supreme Court’s decision will likely come next month.