Ohio Senate passes bill limiting late abortion

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - A bill that would require doctors to determine the viability of an unborn child if a woman seeks an abortion after 20 weeks passed the Ohio Senate on Wednesday.

"Soon, abortionists will no longer be able to perform these brutal late-term abortions when the child can feel pain," said Mike Gonidakis, executive director of Ohio Right to Life. "That will be a true victory for human rights."

Gonidakis said a doctor seeking to perform an abortion has to determine viability at 20 weeks and get a second opinion from another doctor, and abortion would not be allowed if the fetus was found capable of surviving outside the womb. Exceptions would be made if the pregnant woman faces death or severe health impairment, Gonidakis said.

The bill passed by a 24-8 vote in the Republican-majority Senate. The Ohio House also has a Republican majority.

NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio executive director Kellie Copeland said the bill's health exception is "dangerously narrow" and harms women with wanted pregnancies who experience "heart-breaking complications," such as fetal anomaly or a cancer diagnosis.

"Anti-choice politicians who campaigned on less government are now passing legislation that creates more governmental interference in women's personal decisions," said Copeland. "Every woman's situation is different, and it's unacceptable for anti-choice lawmakers to think they should make the personal, private decisions that belong to women and their doctors."

About 16 states are seeking bans on late-term abortions based on research showing that fetuses feel pain at 20 weeks, copying a similar law that passed in Nebraska in 2010. This list does not include Ohio, since it is not specifically a "fetal pain bill" but a viability bill.

Fetal pain bills have passed both chambers of the legislature in Kansas, Idaho and Oklahoma.