Lawmakers in Ohio have backed a bill that would see all abortions banned once a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

The Republican-controlled state House voted to approve the the so-called 'heartbeat bill' yesterday after it passed in the Senate earlier in the day.

The bill, which now must be approved by Ohio state governor John Kasich to become law, would become one of American's most stringent on abortion.

Scroll down for video

Lawmakers in Ohio have backed a bill that would see all abortions banned once a fetal heartbeat can be detected (file picture)

The legislation seeks to prohibit most abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy after the first detectable heartbeat.

The ban would make an exception if the mother's life is in danger but not in cases of rape or incest.

Governor Kasich, an abortion opponent, has previously voiced concerns about whether such a move would be constitutional. He has not said whether he plans to sign the measure into law.

Meanwhile State Senate President Keith Faber, a Republican, said the twice-defeated bill came back up again because of Donald Trump's presidential victory.

He explained this is due to the expectation he will fill Supreme Court vacancies with justices who are more likely to uphold stricter abortion bans.

Asked if he expects the Ohio proposal to survive a legal challenge, Faber added: 'I think it has a better chance than it did before.'

The bill, which now must be approved by Ohio state governor John Kasich, pictured, to become law, would become one of American's most stringent on abortion

However, NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio said the move would block access to abortion before most women even know they're pregnant.

The group's executive director Kellie Copeland said: 'This bill would effectively outlaw abortion and criminalize physicians that provide this care to their patients.'

Kasich now has 10 days to decide whether to veto the law but even then this wouldn't stop the bill if three-fifths of the state House and Senate vote for an override

If he approves the legislation or does nothing for 10 days the bill would become state law in Ohio early next year.

However, CNN reported that the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio has already said it would mount a legal challenge if the bill becomes law.

Under the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling establishing a nationwide right to abortion, states were permitted to restrict abortions after viability — the point when the fetus has a reasonable chance of surviving under normal conditions outside the uterus.