Ohio Republicans seek to pass restrictive abortion law modelled after Texas

Proposed law would ban all abortions, not just those carried out before six weeks

Ohio Republicans want to introduce an abortion ban even stricter than the one passed in Texas that is being challenged in the US Supreme Court.

Lawmakers in the state have introduced a bill that would allow anyone to sue a doctor who performs an abortion or any individual that “aids or abets” the procedure.

And anyone involved in helping carry out the procedure could face a fine of at least $10,000 per abortion.

The bill goes even further than the Texas law by banning all abortions, not just those after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is normally around six weeks.

The Ohio law would also include a ban on administering, procuring or selling any instrument, medicine or drug to terminate a pregnancy.

“All human beings are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” the bill states.

The bill is being sponsored by Jena Powell and Thomas Hall, who are both Republican state lawmakers.

There were more than 20,000 abortions carried out in Ohio in 2020, according to the state’s Department of Health.

“The sanctity of human life, born and preborn, must be preserved in Ohio,” MS Powell said in a statement.

“Abortion kills children, scars families, and harms women. We can and must do better.”

Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said she was concerned the law would empower “anti-abortion vigilantes”.

“We know when things are criminalised, Black folks, women of color and nonbinary people are the ones most under scrutiny,” Ms Copeland said.

“Other people who have the money will find a way to flee Ohio to get the care they need.”

The Texas law, which bans most abortions in the state, was widely criticised and challenged by the Department of Justice.

The case was reviewed by the Supreme Court on Monday, but it is unknown when the justices could rule on it.