Ohio governor signs ban on abortion after 1st heartbeat

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine followed through Thursday on his pledge to sign the heartbeat bill. It cleared the state Legislature on Wednesday.

Posted: Apr 11, 2019 9:40 PM

Updated: Apr 12, 2019 8:33 AM

Posted By: Cody Butler

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio's governor has signed a bill imposing one of the nation's toughest abortion restrictions.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine followed through Thursday on his pledge to sign the heartbeat bill. It cleared the state Legislature on Wednesday.

DeWine's signature makes Ohio the fifth state to ban abortions after the first detectable fetal heartbeat. That can come as early as five or six weeks into pregnancy, before many women know they're pregnant.

DeWine's support for the bill breaks with his predecessor. Former Republican Gov. John Kasich (KAY'-sik) twice vetoed it on grounds it was unconstitutional and would spark a costly court challenge.

Opponents in Ohio have already vowed to sue.

Indiana Coronavirus Cases

Data is updated nightly.

Cases: 707111

Reported Deaths: 13216

County	Cases	Deaths
Marion	96350	1718
Lake	51613	944
Allen	39106	671
Hamilton	34449	405
St. Joseph	33979	539
Elkhart	27255	432
Vanderburgh	22060	394
Tippecanoe	21765	212
Porter	17945	298
Johnson	17507	374
Hendricks	16786	310
Clark	12681	190
Madison	12338	337
Vigo	12204	244
Monroe	11443	166
LaPorte	11118	204
Delaware	10341	184
Howard	9652	211
Kosciusko	9114	114
Hancock	7964	139
Bartholomew	7880	155
Warrick	7681	155
Floyd	7555	176
Wayne	6895	198
Grant	6837	171
Boone	6541	100
Morgan	6390	138
Dubois	6079	117
Marshall	5779	108
Dearborn	5698	76
Cass	5683	102
Henry	5572	100
Noble	5406	83
Jackson	4930	69
Shelby	4784	95
Lawrence	4338	118
Gibson	4279	89
Harrison	4276	70
Clinton	4186	53
Montgomery	4177	86
DeKalb	4091	84
Huntington	3786	80
Whitley	3779	39
Miami	3724	65
Knox	3659	89
Steuben	3644	57
Putnam	3525	60
Jasper	3501	46
Wabash	3476	78
Adams	3379	52
Ripley	3345	68
Jefferson	3129	80
White	3081	54
Daviess	2892	99
Wells	2862	81
Decatur	2787	92
Fayette	2771	62
Greene	2706	85
Posey	2685	33
Scott	2610	53
Clay	2532	44
LaGrange	2524	70
Randolph	2352	80
Washington	2307	31
Spencer	2276	31
Jennings	2247	47
Fountain	2084	45
Sullivan	2077	42
Starke	2039	52
Owen	1921	56
Fulton	1914	39
Jay	1860	29
Carroll	1857	20
Perry	1802	36
Orange	1772	53
Rush	1707	24
Vermillion	1660	43
Franklin	1656	35
Tipton	1609	43
Parke	1446	16
Blackford	1338	31
Pike	1302	34
Pulaski	1136	45
Newton	1035	34
Brown	1000	40
Crawford	976	14
Benton	967	13
Martin	826	15
Warren	796	15
Switzerland	769	8
Union	699	10
Ohio	557	11
Unassigned	0	408

Ohio Coronavirus Cases

Data is updated nightly.

Cases: 1052099

Reported Deaths: 18991

County	Cases	Deaths
Franklin	122167	1356
Cuyahoga	107043	2069
Hamilton	78180	1168
Montgomery	50040	996
Summit	45383	909
Lucas	40122	765
Butler	37721	570
Stark	31437	895
Lorain	24166	473
Warren	23885	293
Mahoning	20905	583
Lake	20009	362
Clermont	19441	229
Delaware	18038	130
Licking	16124	207
Fairfield	15708	197
Trumbull	15585	460
Medina	14868	259
Greene	14668	236
Clark	13634	293
Wood	12767	185
Portage	12384	196
Allen	11328	229
Richland	11041	198
Miami	10536	214
Muskingum	8706	127
Wayne	8576	209
Columbiana	8546	226
Pickaway	8436	121
Marion	8377	135
Tuscarawas	8376	240
Erie	7566	154
Hancock	6714	123
Ross	6699	146
Geauga	6537	146
Ashtabula	6495	165
Scioto	6289	101
Belmont	5626	158
Union	5576	47
Lawrence	5467	102
Jefferson	5324	147
Huron	5307	114
Darke	5273	121
Sandusky	5174	120
Seneca	5124	120
Washington	5076	107
Athens	5015	56
Auglaize	4756	84
Mercer	4716	84
Shelby	4560	90
Knox	4387	108
Madison	4228	59
Putnam	4215	99
Ashland	4131	88
Fulton	4094	67
Defiance	4025	96
Crawford	3872	101
Brown	3864	55
Logan	3729	76
Preble	3703	98
Clinton	3615	60
Ottawa	3569	78
Highland	3470	59
Williams	3267	74
Champaign	3206	57
Jackson	3084	51
Guernsey	3066	49
Perry	2899	49
Fayette	2778	48
Morrow	2753	39
Hardin	2642	64
Henry	2637	66
Coshocton	2594	57
Holmes	2533	99
Van Wert	2391	62
Gallia	2333	46
Pike	2333	31
Adams	2285	52
Wyandot	2272	53
Hocking	2090	59
Carroll	1892	47
Paulding	1686	38
Meigs	1415	38
Noble	1328	37
Monroe	1288	41
Morgan	1066	23
Harrison	1053	36
Vinton	815	14
Unassigned	0	2

Fort Wayne

Partly Cloudy

42°

Hi: 61° Lo: 32°

Feels Like: 38°

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Angola

Clear

46°

Hi: 60° Lo: 32°

Feels Like: 43°

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Huntington

Partly Cloudy

44°

Hi: 60° Lo: 30°

Feels Like: 41°

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Fort Wayne

Partly Cloudy

42°

Hi: 61° Lo: 34°

Feels Like: 38°

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Lima

Partly Cloudy

47°

Hi: 61° Lo: 35°

Feels Like: 44°

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Small chances for isolated drizzle Saturday night & Sunday. Sunday morning starts cold, with the potential for frost area-wide, but warms up to where we should be this time of year.