COLUMBUS, Ohio – The General Assembly on Thursday sent to Gov. John Kasich two bills prohibiting abortions in Ohio.

Senate Bill 145, which bans the dilation and evacuation or D&E procedure, passed in the House 62 to 27, largely along party lines Thursday. Hours later in the Senate, lawmakers adopted a change made in the House and passed the bill also on party lines, 23 to 9.

House Bill 258 would prohibit abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected. It passed the House 53 to 32, largely on party lines, after 1:15 a.m. Several lawmakers were missing. Friday. It passed the Senate on Wednesday 18 to 13, largely on party lines as well.

The Thursday session that stretched into early Friday is the last regular voting session for the House. In the Senate, lawmakers will likely return Wednesday for concurrence votes on bills amended in the House. And lawmakers may return to Columbus to vote to override any potential vetoes by Kasich.

D&E ban

The D&E method is typically used from 13 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Under SB 145, physicians who perform D&Es would be charged with a fourth-degree felony and spend up to 18 months behind bars.

The bill has exceptions, such as allowing the procedure if the life of the mother is at risk or if there could be a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.

Fetal heartbeat

Kasich, a Republican like most in the Ohio General Assembly, vetoed a heartbeat bill in 2016.

But this year, the lawmakers amended the bill to potentially offer women more time to get an abortion by allowing abdominal ultrasounds and other technologies that don’t generally detect heartbeats as soon as transvaginal ultrasounds.

However, abortion rights supporters and opponents by Thursday were both saying that the bill wasn’t substantially changed, since pregnancies and ultrasounds vary by pregnancy for when a heartbeat is detected. It could be as soon as six weeks for some transvaginal ultrasounds.

Veto override process

After receiving one or both abortion bans, Kasich would get up to 10 days – except Sundays – to sign, veto or allow the bill to go into law without his signature. Kasich could let the clock run until the very last minute before vetoing, which could be Christmas Day.

Then it would be a scramble to get lawmakers back to Columbus in the days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve to override the veto. Many people travel outside Ohio for the holidays, and three-fifths of each chamber is necessary for an override.

In the Senate, that’s 20 votes. The fetal heartbeat bill passed with 18 votes Wednesday, but two Republicans did not vote.

In the House, 60 votes are needed. With the D&E ban, House Republicans cleared the threshold Thursday with 62 votes and several lawmakers were not present to vote.

Some lawmakers who support legislation will vote against a veto override, believing on principle it should be used sparingly.

The 132nd Ohio General Assembly, which spanned two years, officially adjourns ends Dec. 31.