Lawmakers in Ohio have introduced a bill requiring doctors to “reimplant an ectopic pregnancy” into a woman’s uterus or face a charge of "abortion murder", despite the fact no such medical procedure exists.

The bill, which is among the most extreme anti-abortion legislation to date, also legally recognises a fetus as an “unborn child” and proposes charging abortion providers with aggravated murder unless the procedure was necessary to save a woman's life.

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilised egg implants outside of the uterus, most often on a woman's fallopian tube. The embryo cannot survive but the growing tissue can cause life-threatening bleeding if left untreated.

It is currently medically impossible to remove and "reimplant" the embryo. However, the legislation put forward in Ohio states that doctors should take "all possible steps to preserve the life of the unborn child", including "attempting to reimplant an ectopic pregnancy into the woman's uterus".

The proposed legislation, House Bill 413, was put forward by two Republicans in Ohio's House of Representatives and has almost 20 co-sponsors. One of its main sponsors, Representative Candice Keller, said: “The time has come to abolish abortion in its entirety and recognise that each individual has the inviolable and inalienable right to life.”