COLUMBUS, Ohio - Republican Gov. John Kasich on Wednesday signed into law a late-term abortion ban that supporters say protects life and critics call dangerous and a violation of women's rights.

House Bill 78 bans abortions when a pregnancy is 20 weeks along unless a doctor determines a fetus cannot live outside the womb -- a condition known as viability.

"The governor is pro-life, has been pro-life throughout his career and believes strongly in the sanctity of human life," Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said.

The law will take effect after 90 days.

NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio condemned the ban. Although there is an exception to the ban if a pregnant woman's life is at risk, the abortion-rights group said the ban's health exception is too narrow and does not include cases of rape or incest.

Kasich "and the Ohio legislature are endangering women's health because they don't trust women and their doctors to make personal, private decisions for themselves," Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said in a statement.

Five other states have passed the same legislation and 39 other states have some type of late-term abortion ban, according to Ohio Right to Life. The organization is confident the ban will withstand potential legal challenges.

"By signing this critical pro-life legislation, Gov. Kasich demonstrated to all Ohioans that the health and welfare of mothers and their unborn children are of paramount importance to the state of Ohio," Ohio Right to Life executive director Mike Gonidakis said in a statement.

The governor's office also released a statement: "Life is a gift from God and one way that we express our ongoing gratitude for it is by respecting it. This bill does that in a very fundamental way and I'm proud to have signed it into law."

The late-term abortion ban is among numerous anti-abortion bills the GOP-controlled legislature has proposed this year.

The House of Representatives has approved the controversial "heartbeat bill," which would ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. The Senate has not yet voted on the measure.

The House also has passed a bill that would restrict insurance coverage for abortions and another that would make it more difficult for minors to get a juvenile court judge's permission to get an abortion without parental consent.