Saturday, May 20, 2000
Taft signs ban on some late-term abortions
By
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS — Gov. Bob Taft signed a bill Friday that bans certain late-term abortions and sets penalties for doctors who perform them. It's the second time the state has tried to outlaw the procedure.
The Legislature in March approved the bill, which creates the crime of “partial birth feticide.” Violators could be sentenced to eight years in prison and face $15,000 in fines.
The procedure, known medically as dilation and extraction, is done in the last three months of a pregnancy. A doctor drains the skull of a fetus before the fetus is fully delivered. Opponents refer to the procedure as partial-birth abortion.
Lawmakers passed the bill only weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether a similar ban in Nebraska is constitutional. A court ruling is expected by July.
The supporters of Ohio's bill, sponsored by Rep. Jerome Luebbers, D-Cincinnati, say they drafted it as narrowly as possible to withstand constitutional challenges.
The legislation is careful to describe only the procedure, which involves intentionally causing at least half of the fetus to emerge before aborting it, proponents say.
A federal judge declared the state's previous ban unconstitutional in 1995.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
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