Ohio Republicans Pushes For Abortion Ban: 'Heartbeat Bill' Will Ban Abortion Even Before Some Women Realize They Are Pregnant [VIDEO]

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Ohio lawmakers have today approved a bill that bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. This can happen as early as six weeks' gestation, before many women even realize they are pregnant. If this bill passed into law, it could be one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the United States.

Donald Trump's election has emboldened Ohio Republicans to pass what would be the most restrictive abortion law in the country. The legislation has now headed to Governor John Kasich's desk, for final confirmation. The bill makes an exception only if the mother's life is endangered but does not extend to cases of rape or incest, according to USdaily.

The ruling in the 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, established a nationwide right to abortion. States can restrict abortions after viability, that is, when a fetus has a reasonable chance of surviving outside the uterus, which ranges from 24 to 28 weeks.

This means that Ohio republicans proposed change would put the state in violation of current constitutional standards. The president-elect has signaled that his federal and Supreme Court appointments are more likely to uphold the abortion bans.

In addition to proposing a clearly unconstitutional abortion ban, Republican Gov. John Kasich has also appointed, and the state Senate has just confirmed a man with zero medical experience to head the state's health department. This man who is in charge of issuing licenses to abortion clinics also opposes legal abortion.

This is not the first time Ohio has attempted to ban abortion at six weeks gestation. In 2011, Ohio became the first state in the country to propose an abortion ban. It failed then, and had also failed in several other instances.

According to Salon, North Dakota is the only state that have successfully pass the abortion ban which was declared unconstitutional, because it is so radical that it actually turns anti-choice politicians against each other and makes them feel very nervous about the rest of their agenda.

Republican state Sen. Keith Faber is one Ohio lawmaker who sees the heartbeat ban as a step too far. He said,

"I have grave concerns that if the Heartbeat Bill were to be passed, it would jeopardize some of the good pro-life work that we have done in the General Assembly."

 Ohio Right to Life and other anti-abortion groups have also opposed similar measures in the past, and Kasich expressed similar concerns. He said,

"I share the same concerns as Ohio Right to Life about what it could mean but it is a long way from getting to my desk," he said.

This is not because any of these lawmakers are concerned about the impact such measure will have on access. Rather, they are worried that if such a measure passes into law and eventually goes to court, it has the tendency of jeopardizing other equally harsh anti-abortion restrictions in the state.

In terms of its political reception, the abortion ban is judged according to individuals' intuitive sense of right. Anti-choice politicians are split on the issues mainly because it exposes how radical their agenda really is. It seems this is something Republican lawmakers do not want the public to know.