Ohio governor says he will sign ‘heartbeat bill’ Kasich vetoed

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said Wednesday that he plans to sign a controversial “heartbeat bill” that would outlaw abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat.

DeWine told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that he will “absolutely” sign the bill banning abortion as early as six weeks, which was vetoed last month by then-Gov. John Kasich (R).

{mosads}DeWine also predicted that he would face lawsuits after signing the bill and that the case will ultimately make its way to the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, an Iowa judge struck down a similar law in that state.

“We will do this. I just saw the headline, a court struck down another heartbeat bill for another state. But ultimately, Hugh, you and I both know that this thing once it’s passed in Ohio, once we sign it, once it becomes law, Planned Parenthood is going to be in the next day, or that day, filing a lawsuit,” DeWine said. 

“But ultimately, this will work its way up to the United States Supreme Court. And they’ll make that decision,” he added.

In vetoing the bill last month, Kasich said that the “central provision of the bill” ran “contrary to the Supreme Court of the United States’ current rulings on abortion.”

Ohio’s legislature was unsuccessful in its attempt to override Kasich’s veto.