Business First
Date: Wednesday, June 29, 2011, 8:04am EDT


A bill passed by the Ohio House of Representatives would be the strictest anti-abortion law in the country.

Legislation that would ban abortions in Ohio after the first fetal heartbeat is detected is one step closer to becoming law after winning approval in the House of Representatives Tuesday, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The House voted 54-43 to pass the legislation, which could ban abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy and be the strictest such restriction in the U.S. Supporters are hoping the bill, if passed, becomes the impetus to challenge the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion, the paper reported.

Detractors of the so-called heartbeat bill have questioned the constitutionality of the legislation and called it an assault on a woman's right to choose. The legislation's fate in the Ohio Senate, also controlled by Republicans, is unknown, the paper reported.