Gov. John Kasich signed his 20th anti-abortion initiative into law on Friday, this one banning abortions on fetuses diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Kasich's office made the announcement without comment.

Ohio Right to Life's top legislative priority this year, House Bill 214 prohibits doctors or others from performing an abortion if the woman is seeking to terminate her pregnancy because her fetus has tested positive for Down syndrome.

"Now that the Down Syndrome Non-Discrimination Act is law, unborn babies prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome are given a shot at life” said Michael Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life. “Ohio is and will continue to be a state that sees the lives of people with Down syndrome as lives worth living, thanks to this legislation."

The bill, sponsored by Reps. Sarah LaTourette, R-Chesterland, and Derek Merrin, R-Monclova Township, does not specifically prohibit aborting a fetus with Down syndrome, but it applies to the mother's motivation for getting an abortion and whether the person performing it knows the mother’s reasons.

Violators would face a fourth-degree felony and the state Medical Board would revoke a convicted physician’s license to practice medicine in Ohio. The bill protects a pregnant woman from facing criminal charges under law.

Supporters of abortion rights oppose the bill, arguing that Kasich is ignoring a recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana overturning that state’s Down syndrome abortion ban.

“The United States Supreme Court has stated in categorical terms that a state may not prohibit any woman from making the ultimate decision to terminate her pregnancy before viability,” U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled in September in the Indiana case.

Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said the bill is unconstitutional and another intrusion into the lives of women seeking safe, legal abortions.

"When a woman receives a diagnosis of Down syndrome during her pregnancy, the last thing she needs is Gov. Kasich barging in to tell her what’s best for her family," Copeland said.

"This law shames women and will have a chilling effect on the conversations between doctors and patients because of the criminal penalties that doctors will face. This law does nothing to support families taking care of loved ones with Down syndrome, instead it exploits them as part of a larger anti-choice strategy to systematically make all abortion care illegal."

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder and the most common chromosomal condition in the United States, afflicting about 1 in 700 babies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last year, 20,672 abortions were performed in Ohio, about 300 fewer than in 2015, and the lowest number since the state began tracking them 40 years ago, according to an annual state report.

It is not known how many abortions are the result of a Down syndrome diagnosis.

Since taking office in 2011, Kasich has signed laws banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, mandating ultrasounds before a woman can get an abortion, and requiring abortion clinics to have written transfer agreements for emergency care with local hospitals that do not receive tax funds.

He's also put Right to Life's Gonidakis on the state medical board while half of Ohio's abortion clinics have closed during his tenure.

"Although Governor Kasich often portrays himself as a moderate on the campaign trail, he has overseen the implementation of more attacks and restrictions on reproductive health care than any Ohio governor," said Joanna E. Saul, vice president of government affairs and public advocacy for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio.

"We urge Gov. Kasich to stop the ongoing attacks on the constitutional right to safe, legal abortion – rest assured we will not stop challenging these unsafe and unnecessary bans."

ccandisky@dispatch.com

@ccandisky