COLUMBUS, Ohio- The Ohio Senate passed a bill Wednesday afternoon that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected -- which would be one of the nation’s strictest bans on the procedure.

Senate Bill 23 -- sponsored by Sen. Kristina Roegner, a Hudson Republican – passed the chamber largely along party lines, 19 to 13.

HB 23 now heads to the House.

Reogner, in her remarks to Senate colleagues, alluded to the goal of abortion opponents to overturn the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade.

Reogner said that courts, guided by standards created in Roe v. Wade, restrict abortion based on the viability of a fetus. But she said viability is a “moving target” because it varies based on the part of the world where a pregnant woman lives or the point in time when advancements in medical technology occurred.

“And we need a new standard," she said. "The heartbeat bill provides a sensible solution.”

Abortions could be banned as soon as six weeks into a pregnancy, when heartbeats are sometimes detected. That’s before some women know they’re pregnant.

People would violate SB 23 if they performed an abortion when a fetal heartbeat has been detected or if they performed an abortion without determining whether there is a heartbeat. They could be charged with a fifth-degree felony, which can carry a penalty of six to 12 months behind bars and a $2,500 fine.

Physicians and other medical providers can additionally face civil lawsuits and sanctions on their licenses by the State Medical Board of Ohio.

There are exceptions if a woman is at risk of dying or could sustain an “irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” – which bill opponents called too burdensome.

Cases of rape and incest

There are no exceptions if a pregnancy is the result of a rape or incest.

“How a human is conceived doesn’t make it any more or less human," said Roegner, the sponsor.

Sen. Nickie Antonio, a Lakewood Democrat, sponsored an amendment allowing exceptions in the cases of rape, incest or mental health of the woman. It failed.

Sen. Sandra Williams, a Cleveland Democrat, sponsored an amendment requiring mandatory health insurance coverage for maternity services. If a woman is forced to carry a child by Ohio, she should get maternity care. That also failed.

Before voting against the bill, Sen. John Eklund, a Republican from Geauga County, said there was no way he could support it because it lacked exceptions for rape and incest.

“I continue to believe all abortion is wrong, wrong because in every case the victim is innocent," Eklund said. “But in cases of rape or incest, certainly there is more than one victim. The mother is in a very real sense a victim. And I believe that mother ... faces...a deeply, deeply moral dilemma that I’m not altogether sure the legislature should be making for that mother.”

Republicans joining Eklund in opposing the bill were Sens. Matt Dolan of Chagrin Falls, Nathan Manning of North Ridgeville, and Stephanie Kunze, of Columbus suburb Hilliard.

Legislation’s history

Former Gov. John Kasich twice vetoed heartbeat bills that the Ohio General Assembly sent to his desk. He said that he didn’t think they would be upheld in the courts. Ohio, as the losing party, would have to pay the attorneys’ fees of the prevailing parties, he said.

Ohio Right to Life, the state’s leading anti-abortion group, opposed or was neutral on past Ohio heartbeat legislation, saying that it would be struck down and a setback for its cause. But with new members on the U.S. Supreme Court, it now supports HB 23.

But Gov. Mike DeWine promised during his campaign that he would sign a heartbeat bill.

That could set Ohio up for a legal battle that abortion opponents hope could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court, where Roe v. Wade could get tossed.

Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof said a lot of thought was put into the bill, and it could go to the high court.

“I think if you shy away from things just because there might be litigation we would not have seen the re-prioritization of the funds that we did a number of years ago that the 6th Circuit upheld yesterday," he said.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a state law that would defund Planned Parenthood.

Non-binding resolution

The Ohio Senate also unanimously passed a non-binding measure, Senate Resolution 41, urging Congress to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. The federal legislation, sponsored by Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, prohibits doctors and others from failing to exercise “the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.”

Ohio Senate Democrats called a recess and left the chamber for several minutes. They returned and joined Republicans in voting for it.

During a Tuesday committee meeting, Democrats argued the Ohio bill was not necessary because protections already exist in federal law.