06/18/2025

Ohio Lawmakers Expected to Introduce New Bill to Criminalize Abortion

This could happen despite a constitutional amendment protecting reproductive rights

Ohio lawmakers are set to introduce a bill this week that would define life as beginning at fertilization, a move that could criminalize abortion and affect fertility treatments — despite a constitutional amendment recently passed by voters protecting reproductive rights.

The Prenatal Equal Protection Act would create legal protections from the moment of fertilization. The proposed bill says if a woman gets an abortion, then she would be charged for killing another human being. However, there are exceptions to the law, including to save the life of a woman or a spontaneous miscarriage.

"All that it does is simply identify the pre-born human being as a person under the law, and deserving of the equal protections of the law," said Austin Beigel, president of End Abortion Ohio. "It gives the same protections to the pre-born human being that the human being has."

Please select this link to read the complete article from WBNS-10TV.