Heartbeat Bill is Given Life in Ohio

by Tony Perkins: Yesterday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine made Ohio the 6th state to adopt what is known as the Heartbeat Bill, a measure that prohibits abortion after the detection of a baby's heartbeat. DeWine's signature on the bill comes after the previous Republican governor, John Kasich vetoed similar measures twice, the latest being shortly before Christmas last year.

When Gov. Kasich last vetoed the bill, he dismissively told pro-lifers that "every army needs a rest." So far, the newly elected Governor DeWine hasn't taken Kasich's advice. Yesterday as he signed the bill into law, he was joined by our friends at Citizens for Community Values, Aaron Baer, and FRC's National Director of Ministry Engagement, Pastor JC Church, all of whom participated in the incredible effort that has taken nine years to accomplish.

Not surprisingly, the radical Left can't handle it. Video footage shows protesters holding Planned Parenthood signs outside the Ohio House Chamber as the final vote was happening. The ACLU of Ohio promised to file a lawsuit against this pro-life bill even before Governor DeWine signed it.

The reaction to New York governor Andrew Cuomo's extreme abortion legislation and Virginia governor Ralph Northam's pro-infanticide comments has been swift and decisive. In the 2019 state legislative season, which is still not over, 250 pro-life bills in 41 states have been introduced. As of today, nine states have enacted a pain-capable unborn child protection act, and 11 states have enacted a dismemberment abortion ban. In the 2019 legislative session, 11 states have introduced the former, and eight the latter -- one of which was just signed into law in North Dakota. As I shared last night at an event in Southern California, the nation is on the verge of becoming a predominately pro-life nation, and the political pro-life momentum reflects that reality.

Ohio State Representative Candice Keller, a sponsor of Ohio's newest pro-life law, joined me on Washington Watch yesterday and said that "As Ohio goes, so goes the nation." Long considered the swingiest of swing states, Ohio has voted for the winning presidential candidate in all but four elections since the Civil War. For Ohio to prohibit abortion after six weeks is really a canary in the coal mine for abortion in America.

Rep. Keller, who also runs a pro-life pregnancy clinic, continued, "Enough is enough! It's time to tell the truth." Abortion advocates have largely given up on disputing what an ultrasound so clearly shows: an unborn baby is very much a living human being. Think about it; if the absence of a heartbeat determines the end of life, shouldn't the beginning of a heartbeat determine the start of life? But increasingly, the Left is openly rejecting science whether it is in regard to the presence of life or the reality of gender.

It is time for our country to acknowledge what science and our consciences so clearly tell us and defend the dignity of human life.
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Tony Perkins (@tperkins) is President of the Family Research Council . This article was on Tony Perkin's Washington Update and written with the aid of FRC senior writers.

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