Heartbeat bill explained

A six-week abortion ban, also called a "fetal heartbeat bill" by proponents, is a law in the United States which makes abortion illegal as early as six weeks gestational age (two weeks after a woman's first missed period), which is when proponents claim that a "fetal heartbeat" can be detected.[1] [2] [3] Medical and reproductive health experts, including the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, say that the reference to a fetal heartbeat is medically inaccurate and misleading,[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] for a conceptus is not called a fetus until eight weeks after fertilization, as well as that at four weeks after fertilization, the embryo has no heart, only a group of cells which will become a heart.[10] [11] [12] [13] Medical professionals advise that a true fetal heartbeat cannot be detected until around 17 to 20 weeks of gestation when the chambers of the heart have become sufficiently developed.[14]

Janet Porter, an anti-abortion activist from Ohio, is considered to be the person that first authored this type of legislation. Efforts to introduce her model law succeeded in passing through political branches of government in about a dozen states but in most cases the courts struck down or blocked similar legislation; however, the Texas Heartbeat Act and analogues subsequently adopted in other states succeeded due to a unique enforcement mechanism that makes challenging the law extremely difficult, and which was upheld by the Supreme Court. In some states, the heartbeat bills' effect (whether blocked or not) has been minimized by more stringent total abortion bans that were announced following the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization; in other states, such as Ohio,[15] South Carolina and Tennessee, judges lifted the injunctions against the previously passed laws.

Porter's anti-abortion group argues that a heartbeat "is the universally recognized indicator of life."[16] Reproductive rights advocates, on the other hand, say that these bans are de facto complete abortion bans, since many women do not even know that they are pregnant six weeks after their last menstruation, which is on average (with a regular cycle) four weeks post-fertilization and three weeks post-implantation.[1]

Background

The heartbeat bills are based on model legislation created by Faith2Action, a conservative Christian ministry from Ohio advocating for abortion restrictions. Its founder and leader, Janet Porter, said that she was frustrated by what she saw was slow progress in banning pregnancy termination around the United States.[16] [17] The activist thus authored the Ohio House Bill 493 in 2011, and arranged for heart-shaped balloons and fetuses' "testimony" in the legislature, but the bill failed to get out of the Senate because the lawmakers feared the bill was unconstitutional.[17] Her efforts were not considered mainstream at the time, and the Ohio Right to Life, an anti-abortion group which previously employed Porter, opposed such legislation.[18] While that proposal failed, a flurry of copycat legislation was proposed in several other states, which has not abated since then.[17]

In 2013, North Dakota became the first state to pass legislation banning abortions after six weeks. In 2015, the law was ruled unconstitutional under the precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade (1973). Eleven states have proposed bills for six-week abortion bans since 2018; since 2019, such bills have passed including bills in Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Texas, most of which lie either partly or entirely in the Bible Belt. Utah and Arkansas voted to limit the procedure to the middle of the second trimester. As of June 2021,[19] except for the Texas bill, none of the laws were in effect due to court intervention.[20] [21] The Guttmacher Institute writes that "state policymakers are testing the limits of what the new U.S. Supreme Court majority might allow and laying the groundwork for a day when federal constitutional protections for abortion are weakened or eliminated entirely."[19] Texas has taken a novel approach in their wording of the legislation; rather than have the government enforce the law, private citizens are to be allowed to sue the provider or anyone that helps the woman to get an abortion. The Texas Tribune writes that "supporters of the bill hope this novel provision will trip up legal challenges to the legislation, as without state officials enforcing the ban, there will be nobody for pro-women's rights groups to sue."[22]

Timing

See also: Beginning of pregnancy controversy. Because the start of pregnancy is measured from the date of a woman's last menstruation (generally about two weeks before conception), six weeks into a pregnancy equals four weeks of embryonic development, and only two weeks after a woman's first missed period, when many women are unaware that they are pregnant.[23] [24] Most women who have an abortion do so after six weeks' gestation.[25] Reproductive rights advocates contend that because of these and other reasons, the "fetal heartbeat" bills are de facto bans on abortion.[26] [27]

Terminology

While some of these laws ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and are called "fetal heartbeat" laws by their proponents who claim that a fetal heartbeat can be detected at six weeks, doctors have said that the term "fetal heartbeat" at that stage is false and intentionally misleading. A conceptus is not called a fetus until after ten weeks of pregnancy. Additionally, since at six weeks the embryo has no heart – only a group of cells which will become a heart – calling it a heartbeat is also misleading. The heart will only have formed enough to be able to hear a real fetal heartbeat by 17–20 weeks of gestation.

Jennifer Keats, an OB-GYN at University of California, San Francisco, stated that the embryo's cardiovascular system at six weeks is "very immature". Keats described the cardiac activity as "a group of cells with electrical activity. That's what the heartbeat is at that stage of gestation... We are in no way talking about any kind of cardiovascular system."

Ted Anderson, formerly president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), said that "ACOG does not use the term 'heartbeat' to describe these legislative bans on abortion because it is misleading language, out of step with the anatomical and clinical realities of that stage of pregnancy." and "Pregnancy and fetal development are a continuum; What's interpreted as a heartbeat in these bills is actually electrically induced flickering of a portion of fetal tissue that will become the heart as the embryo develops."

Controversy exists surrounding six-week abortion bans in part because there is debate on the point at which an embryo heartbeat can be detected. In 2013, when the Wyoming House of Representatives considered a "heartbeat bill", Norine Kasperik said that "she heard different answers [as] to when a heartbeat is detectable", and in her view "there seemed to be variation by medical equipment used". Mary Throne asked: "Is this abortion illegal at 22 days with a highly invasive ultrasound or is it illegal at 9 weeks when we hear a heartbeat with a stethoscope?" Other critics of the bills have claimed that they ignore that not all embryos' heartbeats become detectable at the same time, even when measured using the same methods.[28]

The Center for Reproductive Rights has stated that there is some inconsistency with regard to these laws; specifically, the Arkansas law requires providers to use an abdominal ultrasound to attempt to detect a fetal heartbeat, while the North Dakota law allows the use of any available technology, including a transvaginal probe, which makes it possible to detect a fetal heartbeat earlier than an abdominal ultrasound can.[29] With specific regard to the North Dakota law, detecting an embryo's heartbeat at six weeks into a pregnancy requires the use of a transvaginal ultrasound, which some members of the abortion-rights movement say is unnecessarily invasive.[30]

Controversy

Pregnancy from rape

In the United States, it is estimated that there are 25–32thousand pregnancies from rape per year in adult women, although the number may be considerably higher, since many women do not report rape. Many victims receive little to no aftercare, and most experience various forms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A third of these pregnancies are not discovered until the second trimester. Any delay in detection reduces women's options, especially outside major urban centers. However, this is complicated by the fact that, when they are called on to decide whether to have an abortion, many women are still physically and mentally recovering from being raped (and will continue to for an extended period of time).[31]

Most women do not report sexual assault, and often it is hard to bring an assault case to trial. Teenage girls are especially unlikely to report assault, even though 74% of women who had intercourse before age 14 and 60% of those who had sex before age 15 report having had a forced sexual experience. One study conducted in the 1970s that looked at California data found that "on average, only 413 men were arrested annually for statutory rape in California, even though 50,000 pregnancies occurred among underage women in 1976 alone".[32]

Alabama's "heartbeat bill", passed in 2019, makes abortions illegal even in cases of rape and incest. Furthermore, it requires that judges terminate the parental rights of a man convicted of first-degree rape or certain other sex crimes, leaving a loophole that allows rapists to seek custody of a child conceived as the result of their assault. However, because the law requires a conviction, activists say that since most sexual assaults are never reported, much less produce a finding of guilt in court, many victims are left vulnerable. Activists fear that a victim could find herself in a situation where she would be forced to bear a child of rape and then be forced to co-parent the child with her rapist.[33] Responding to criticism of the Texas "heartbeat bill", which also does not exempt from its provisions women and girls who have been raped, Governor Greg Abbott asserts that the Act will not force a woman who has been raped to carry a pregnancy to term because the state will "work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets."[34]

Constitutionality

Before Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) were overturned in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022), members of the abortion-rights movement criticized heartbeat bills as violating a constitutionally inferred right to privacy. Critics of six-week abortion bans said that, since Roe established that states must allow abortion until the point of viability (generally between 24 and 28 weeks into the pregnancy), such bills "blatantly contradict[ed]" Supreme Court precedent. The 2013 North Dakota law banning abortions after six weeks was overturned when the District Court for the District of North Dakota found it to be "clearly invalid and unconstitutional based on the United States Supreme Court precedent in Roe v. Wade."[35]

Proponents of six-week abortion bans contended that the constitutional precedent of Roe should be re-examined in light of advancements in law and science. Ohio governor Mike DeWine argued that the main purposes of the bills are to "protect the most vulnerable among us, those who don't have a voice" and that the "government's role should be to protect life from the beginning to the end."[36]

"Informed consent" laws

A related though distinct type of law is that introduced at the state level in all 50 states in the US in October 2011, which would require any woman seeking an abortion to see and hear their conceptus's heartbeat. Supporters included the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Americans United for Life, and the Susan B. Anthony List. Another such bill was introduced in Texas. A similar type of legislation, the Heartbeat Informed Consent Act, was introduced at the national level around the same time by Michele Bachmann; however, it died in committee.[37] Another law of this variety, introduced by Sharon Weston Broome, was passed by legislators in Louisiana in 2012, as an amendment to a 2010 bill requiring women seeking an abortion to receive an ultrasound of their conceptus.[38] Similar laws have been passed in states such as Georgia in 2005;[39] and a law that mandated both an ultrasound of the "unborn child" and listening to its heartbeat before an abortion could be procured was laid on the table in 2012 in Pennsylvania.[40] This last bill became controversial when Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania's governor, stated that "You just have to close your eyes" and dismissed accusations that the bill would be unnecessarily obtrusive.[41] Furthermore, while the anti-abortion movement claims that bills mandating a woman listen to her conceptus' heartbeat would increase the likelihood of them changing their mind, the abortion-rights community, with the support of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, opposes "informed-consent" bills because they threaten to, if passed, "significantly jeopardize the open dialogue within the physician-patient relationship."[42]

"Informed consent" laws requiring women seeking abortions to have the physician play a recording of her conceptus' heartbeat have met with challenges in court, notably in Texas, when the CRR filed a lawsuit against it, leading to a court case entitled Texas Medical Providers Performing Abortion Services v. Lakey. Prior to Sam Sparks condemning the law in January 2012, however, a federal district court had ruled that the law violated the First Amendment in August 2011. This decision was reversed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, led by Edith Jones. Another similar law was challenged in North Carolina in Stuart v. Huff, in which a federal district court ruled that the law was in violation of the First Amendment. This case, unlike the one in Texas, has not yet been appealed.[43] This has led to some debate among different anti-abortion groups regarding strategy; specifically, while some of these groups, like the Kansas Coalition for Life, have supported the passing of this legislation, others, like Kansans for Life, are concerned that "enacting a fetal heartbeat ban would prompt a court ruling undoing some limits on abortion and providers."[44] Paul Linton, former general counselor for AUL, has argued that fetal heartbeat laws "have no chance in the courts." He, like most mainstream anti-abortion advocates (including James Bopp), prefers instead a legislative strategy that chips away at Roe v. Wade.[29]

Legal challenges

Arkansas

On May 27, 2015, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling and permanently blocked the law from being enforced.[45] In January 2016, The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case, leaving the Eighth Circuit's ruling in place.[46]

Iowa

On May 15, 2018, eleven days after Iowa Governor, Kim Reynolds, signed SF 359 into law, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc., Jill Meadows, and Emma Goldman Clinic (petitioners) filed a lawsuit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief in state court arguing the fetal heartbeat law violated the Iowa State Constitution.[47] [48] [49] On June 1, 2018, Polk County District Court Judge Michael Huppert entered a preliminary injunction which temporarily blocked the law from going into effect.[50] On January 22, 2019, the county district judge declared the law to be in violation of the Iowa Constitution and entered a permanent injunction prohibiting its enforcement. In holding the law unconstitutional the judge cited the Iowa Supreme Court's 2018 ruling in a challenge to a different abortion-restriction in which the state's court of last resort held that "a woman's right to decide whether to terminate a pregnancy is a fundamental right under the Iowa Constitution."[51] Anti-abortion proponents have said they hope this litigation creates a pathway for Roe v. Wade to be reexamined by the U.S. Supreme Court, but University of Iowa law professor Paul Gowder and other legal experts have said that it is almost impossible that it could end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, as the U.S. Supreme Court does not review Supreme Court decisions concerning state constitutional questions.[52]

In response to Judge Michael Huppert's ruling that Iowa's heartbeat abortion ban violates the state Constitution, anti-abortion legislators have filed legislation to amend the state constitution to state "that the Constitution of the State of Iowa does not secure or protect a right to or require the funding of abortion."[53] The resolutions proposing to amend Iowa's constitution are SJR 9 and HJR 5 which were filed on January 24, 2019, and February 6, 2019, respectively.[54] [55]

Kentucky

Kentucky already has three lawsuits over abortion restrictions.[56]

North Dakota

In July 2015, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision blocking HB 1456 from going into effect.[57] The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case and the law remains permanently blocked.[58]

South Carolina

In August 2022, the South Carolina Supreme Court temporarily granted an injunction suspending the law until it could make a ruling on the constitutionality of the law.[59] In January 2023, the court overturned the law in a 3–2 split decision, ruling that the 2022 six-week abortion ban violates a woman's right to privacy which is granted by the state constitution.[60]

Texas

See also: Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson and United States v. Texas (2021). There have been multiple lawsuits challenging enforcement of the 2021 Texas Heartbeat Act. Several of these are still pending or active.

State laws

Summary table

StateSessionBillLower houseUpper houseExecutiveStatus
2014HB490
2019HB314[61]
2019–20HB302
2022HB2483
2013SB134rowspan=2 [62]
2021HB1012
2022HB1118
2019HB235
SB792
2022HB167
2019–20HB481[63]
2021HB 366
2022SB1309
2018SF 359[64]
2019SB9[65]
2019SB184[66]
2019HB933
HB978
2019–20HB4664
2021–22HB5445
2019HF271
SF869
2019SB2116[67]
2019HB126[68]
2022LB781
2021–22H31
2013HB1456[69]
2016HB493
2018HB258rowspan="2"
2019SB23
2023November 2023 Ohio Issue 1Ballot initiative, passed 56-44[70]
2021HB2441
2022SB1503
2017–18HB2315
2021–22HB904
SB378
2019–20H3020
2021–22S1
2023–24S474
2019HB77
2020HB2263[71]
2013HB59
2019HB1500
2021SB8
2019HB2903
HB2915
2022SB923
2013HB97
2021HB0134

Alabama

See main article: Human Life Protection Act. House Bill 490 prohibiting abortions after a heartbeat can be detected was passed by a vote of 73–29 in the Alabama House on March 4, 2014. In doing so they became the first state to pass such a bill.[72] The bill later died in committee.[73]

In 2019, Alabama passed an abortion law that is more far-reaching than a heartbeat law.[74] On April 2, 2019, House Bill 314 banning abortions at every stage of pregnancy and criminalizing the procedure for doctors (except in the case of medical emergency or lethal fetal anomaly), was introduced into the House. The bill passed the House on April 30 (74–3),[75] passed the Senate on May 14,[76] and was signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey on May 16.[77]

Arkansas

A fetal heartbeat bill, banning abortion after twelve weeks, was passed on January 31, 2013, by the Arkansas Senate,[78] vetoed in Arkansas by Governor Mike Beebe, but, on March 6, 2013, his veto was overridden by the Arkansas House of Representatives.[79] A federal judge issued a temporary injunction against the Arkansas law in May 2013,[80] and in March 2014, it was struck down by federal judge Susan Webber Wright, who described the law as unconstitutional.[81]

Florida

Two fetal heartbeat bills were filed in the Florida Legislature in 2019.[82] Rep. Mike Hill filed a fetal heartbeat bill (HB 235) on January 10, 2019, in the Florida House of Representatives.[83] A companion bill (SB 792), was filed in the Florida Senate on February 6, 2019, by Sen. Dennis Baxley.[84] The bills, which are identical,[85] would have made it a third-degree felony for a doctor to perform an abortion on a woman after a fetal heartbeat is detected,[86] unless the "woman has been diagnosed with a condition that would create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function if the woman delayed terminating her pregnancy."[87] Both bills died in committee.[88]

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has pledged to sign legislation that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat was detected.[89] [90]

Georgia

See main article: Georgia House Bill 481. Two fetal heartbeat bills were filed in the Georgia General Assembly in 2015.

Rep. Ed Setzler introduced HB 481 in the Georgia House of Representatives on February 25, 2019.[91] A similar bill is expected to be filed in the Georgia State Senate by Sen. Bruce Thompson soon.[92] [93] During his campaign for Governor, Brian Kemp, now the Governor of Georgia, "vow[ed] to sign the toughest abortion laws in the country" and when asked about litigation said, "bring it! I'll fight for life at the Capitol and in the courtroom."[94] After being passed in the House on March 7, 2019, HB 481 was passed out of a Senate committee on March 18, 2019.[95] [96] It was subsequently passed by the entire state Senate, after which it was narrowly passed by the House 92–78.[97] The bill was signed by Governor Kemp on May 7, 2019, bringing into effect one of the strictest abortion laws in the country at the time.[98]

The bill would prohibit abortions after a heartbeat can be detected in a conceptus, which is usually when a woman is six weeks pregnant.Democratic opponent of the Georgia bill, former governal candidate Stacey Abrams, called the bill a "forced pregnancy bill."[99]

Idaho

Rep. Gregory Chaney introduced HB 366 on April 13, 2021, that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. The bill passed the house by a vote of 53–16 on April 16, 2021, and the senate on April 21, 2021, by a vote of 25–7 and was later signed into law by Governor Brad Little on April 29, 2021.[100] The law included exceptions for cases of rape, incest, and when the mother's life is in danger.[101] The law goes into effect if another similar ban is upheld by appellate court.[102]

Iowa

On May 4, 2018, governor Kim Reynolds signed into law a bill that would ban abortion in Iowa after a fetal heartbeat is detected, starting July 1, 2018.[103] On January 22, 2019, a county district judge declared the law to be in violation of Iowa's State Constitution and entered a permanent injunction prohibiting its enforcement.[104] See the Iowa Lawsuit section of this article under the Legal challenges heading for more details related to the litigation over Iowa's fetal heartbeat bill.

Kansas

The bill was introduced and referred to committee in February 2013. The bill was presented to the Kansas house in March 2013.[105] The bill was known as House Bill 2324, "An act prohibiting an abortion of an unborn human individual with a detectable fetal heartbeat."[106] One outspoken advocate of such bills is Mark Gietzen, who has tried to gather as many signatures as possible in order to get Sam Brownback to convene a special session of Congress in order to consider the bill.[107] Gietzen also advocated for a fetal heartbeat law to be passed during a special session of the Kansas legislature, to be held on September 3, 2013.[108] HB 2324 died in committee in May 2014.

Kentucky

Two bills which seek to prohibit abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected have been filed in the Kentucky General Assembly in 2019.[109] Sen. Matt Castlen introduced SB 9 in the Kentucky Senate on January 8, 2019.[110] On February 14, 2019, SB 9 passed out of the Kentucky Senate by a 31–6 vote.[111] The bill was received in the House on February 15, 2019.[112] Damon Thayer, the Senate Republican floor leader said SB 9 "absolutely" was a priority for the chamber and said he would be delighted if it became law and ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court as a means to overturn to Roe v. Wade "It would be the pinnacle of my career," he said.[113] On March 14, 2019, the Kentucky House passed SB 9 by a vote of 71–19.[114] As of April 2019, the ACLU filed suit to challenge it and a federal judge blocked enforcement until the final ruling in district court.

A similar bill by Rep. Robert Goforth was introduced in the Kentucky House of Representatives. The bill, HB 100, which was prefiled on December 13, 2018, was referred to the Health and Family Services Committee on January 10, 2019.[115] When asked about the heartbeat bill, Rep. Goforth, who announced his candidacy for Governor of Kentucky on January 8, 2019, the same day the bill was introduced, said he would be pleased if Kentucky or one of the other states considering similar measures enacted such a law and, in the event of court challenge, took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Previous fetal heartbeat bills filed in Kentucky have failed to pass. A fetal heartbeat bill, HB 132, was introduced on January 7, 2014, by Joseph Fischer. The bill was referred to the House Health and Welfare Committee on March 19, 2014, where the bill died.[116] [117] In 2013, Rep. Fischer introduced the same bill with the same bill number (Hb 132) on January 11, 2013. The bill was referred to the House Health and Welfare Committee on February 20, 2013, where the bill died.[118] [119]

Maryland

Two fetal heartbeat bills have been filed in the Maryland House of Delegates in 2019. On February 8, 2019, Ric Metzgar filed HB 933.[120] On February 8, 2019, Robin L. Grammer, Jr. filed HB 978, a bill entitled "Keep Our Hearts Beating Act."[121]

Minnesota

On January 22, 2019, Tim Miller filed HF 271 in the Minnesota House of Representatives.[122]

Mississippi

In 2018, three heartbeat bills were filed in Mississippi; all of which died in committee.[123] [124] [125] In 2017, three heartbeat bills were filed in Mississippi; all of which died in committee.[126] [127] [128] In 2014, Sen. Joey Fillingane, filed a heartbeat bill in the Mississippi State Senate.[129] The bill died in committee.[130] In 2013, HB 6, was introduced in January and died in committee on February 5, 2013.[131]

Another fetal heartbeat bill filed in 2019, HB 529 by Robert Foster died the House Judiciary A Committee on February 5, 2019.[132]

Three fetal heartbeat bills were filed in the Mississippi Legislature in January 2019.[133] SB 2116, by Sen. Angela Burks Hill was referred to the Public Health and Welfare Committee on January 11, 2019.[134] HB 732, by Rep. Chris Brown was referred to the Public Health and Human Services Committee on January 17, 2019.[135] After passing out of their respective committees on February 5, 2019, both SB 2116 and HB 732, were passed out of the Mississippi Senate and Mississippi House on February 13, 2019.[136] On March 19, 2019, the Senate concurred in the House amendments to SB 2116,[137] and on March 22, 2019, the fetal heartbeat bill was signed into law by Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant.[138]

Missouri

Two fetal heartbeat bills have been filed in Missouri on January 9, 2019.[139] SB 139 was filed in the Missouri Senate by Sen. Andrew Koenig; the bill is pending in the Health and Pensions Committee.[140] HB 126 was filed in the Missouri House of Representatives by Rep. Nick Schroer.[141] On January 30, 2019, HB 126 was referred to the Children and Families Committee, and on February 12, 2019, a public hearing on the bill was completed.[142] On February 21, 2018, HB 126 was voted out of committee to the full House with the recommendation that it "do pass."[143] [144] On February 27, 2019, HB 126 was passed out of the Missouri House and was sent to the state Senate.[145] Missouri's House Speaker Elijah Haahr has said he supports the "heartbeat bill" calling it a top priority for the 2019 session.[146] [147] When asked if he would sign a fetal heartbeat bill, Governor Mike Parson said, "I've been pro-life my entire career, and I support that all the time."[148]

The bill was signed on May 24, 2019, with an effective date of August 28, 2019. The bill bans abortions after 8 weeks, with no exceptions for rape or incest.[149]

North Dakota

North Dakota HB 1456 was signed into law in March 2013[150] by Jack Dalrymple, who stated that it was "a legitimate attempt by a state legislature to discover the boundaries of Roe v. Wade." A federal district court found that it clearly violated the constitutional protections afforded in Roe v. Wade and it was quickly blocked.[151] In July of that year, a lawsuit had been filed with regard to the law by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), on behalf of the only abortion clinic in North Dakota, Red River Women's Clinic. In July 2015, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the bill.[152] The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, but the court denied a writ of certiorari in January 2016 and let stand the decision of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.[153]

Ohio

In Ohio, a fetal heartbeat bill, HB 125, was co-authored by Janet Porter,[154] was introduced in the state legislature in October 2011.[155] The bill was shelved by the Republican majority Senate to avoid controversy.[156] This bill was notably supported by Jack Willke.[157] The original Bill was authored by Janet Porter of Faith2Action; former Governor John Kasich vetoed it twice prior to its passing.[158]

A related law was signed in Ohio in 2013 (HB 248)[159] by John Kasich, which mandates, among other things, that doctors who do not test for a fetal heartbeat must be subject to criminal penalties; specifically, "The doctor's failure to do so would be a first-degree misdemeanor, carrying up to six months in jail, for the first violation and a fourth-degree felony, carrying up to 18 months in jail, for subsequent violations."[160] A further fetal heartbeat bill, based on Porter's original, was introduced on August 14, 2013, by Lynn Wachtmann and others.[161]

On March 25, 2015, another heartbeat bill (House Bill 69) passed the Ohio House of Representatives.[162] The Guardian reported that "The bill is unlikely to go any further, facing stiff opposition in the senate as well as from John Kasich, the Republican governor of Ohio."[163]

On December 6, 2016, the Ohio Senate added a heartbeat ban provision to an unrelated bill, House Bill 493, previously passed by the Ohio House of Representatives. The bill was returned to the House and passed by the House the same day.[164] [165] The bill as passed would make abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat a fifth-degree felony except in cases where a physician judges the abortion necessary "to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman."[166] On December 13, 2016, Kasich vetoed the bill,[167] [168] [169] [170] on the basis that it was unconstitutional and would almost certainly be struck down if challenged in court.[171] The Ohio House of Representatives considered whether to override Kasich's veto, which would require a three-fifths vote in both the House and the Senate.[172] However, the House leadership opted not to call lawmakers back to Columbus before the end of the year, ensuring Kasich's veto would stand.[173]

The bill passed the Ohio Senate with a vote of 21 yeas, out of 33 seats in the senate; it received 10 nays:

House Bill 493 – Final vote in the Senate[174]
PartyVotes forVotes againstAbstained/Absent
(23)–
(10)–
Total (33)21102

In the House of Representatives, the bill passed the Ohio House with a vote of 56 yeas, out of 99 seats in the house; it received 39 nays:

House Bill 493 – Final vote in the House of Representatives
PartyVotes forVotes againstAbstained/Absent
(65)
(34)
Total (99)56394

Two fetal heartbeat bills were introduced in the Ohio General Assembly in 2019, marking the 133rd Session of the Ohio General Assembly as the fifth time such legislation has been proposed in the state.[175] On February 11, 2019, Christina Hagan and Ron Hood filed HB 68,[176] which was introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives on February 12, 2019.[177] On February 12, 2019, Kristina Roegner filed SB 23 in the Ohio Senate;[178] the bill was referred to the Health, Human Services and Medicaid Committee on February 13, 2019.[179] On February 21, 2019, the President of the Ohio Senate, Larry Obhof pledged to pass SB 23 out of the upper chamber stating, "We are going to pass that bill by the middle of March. I have no doubt at all."[180] On March 13, 2019, SB 23 was passed out of the Ohio Senate by a vote of 19 to 13.[181] The next month, the Ohio House amended the bill, and passed it, 56–40; the changes were ratified in the Senate, 18–13.[182] The bill was signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine on April 11, 2019.[183] [184] [185] On July 3, 2019, a federal judge blocked the implementation of the bill temporarily, just days before the law was to take effect.[186]

Oklahoma

A fetal heartbeat bill (SB 1274) was signed into law by then-Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin in April 2012 that requires an abortion provider to offer a woman the opportunity to hear the conceptus's heartbeat before ending the pregnancy, and applies when the conceptus is at least eight weeks old. The bill took effect in November 2012.[187]

Pennsylvania

A fetal heartbeat bill (HB 2315) was introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on May 2, 2018, primarily sponsored by Rep Rick Saccone.[188] The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee where it died.[189]

South Carolina

State Representative John McCravy prefiled HB 3020 in the South Carolina House of Representatives in December 2018.[190] The bill, which is entitled "Fetal Heartbeat Protection from Abortion Act", was introduced on January 8, 2018, and referred to the House Judiciary Committee.[191] Previous attempts to pass fetal heartbeat bills in the South Carolina General Assembly had failed. The State Senate voted 30–13 on January 27, 2021, to pass the new ban. The law had exceptions for cases of rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is at risk.[192] The state's Republican-controlled House had passed similar legislation in previous years.[193] McMaster signed the bill into law on February 18, 2021,[194] but it was blocked by U.S. District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis a mere day later following a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood and Greenville Women's Clinic. In January 2023, the law was permanently overturned by the state supreme court.[60]

Tennessee

Two fetal heartbeat bills were filed in the Tennessee General Assembly in 2019. On January 23, 2019, by Rep. James "Micah" Van Huss filed HB 77 in the Tennessee House of Representatives.[195] On February 7, 2019, Sen. Mark Pody filed SB 1236 in the Tennessee Senate.[196] On February 20, 2019, HB 77 was passed out of a Public Health subcommittee and sent to the full committee.[197] On February 26, 2019, the House Public Health Committee voted 15–4 to send HB 77 to the House floor for a full vote.[198] [199] On February 7, 2019, HB 77 was passed out of the Tennessee House by a vote of 66–21.[200]

Texas

See main article: article and Texas Heartbeat Act.

See also: Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson and United States v. Texas (2021). A fetal heartbeat bill was previously introduced in Texas by Phil King on July 18, 2013, in the wake of Rick Perry signing Texas Senate Bill 5 into law.[201] The bill was not passed.[202] [203] The bill (HB 1500) is joint authored by Representatives Phil King, Dan Flynn, Tan Parker, and Rick Miller.[204] As of February 26, 2019, HB 1500 had 57 sponsors or cosponsors of the 150 members of the Texas House of Representatives.[205] Former State Senator Wendy Davis said HB 1500 is "the most dangerous I've ever seen."[206]

On March 11, 2021, state senator Bryan Hughes of Mineola, Texas, introduced a fetal heartbeat bill entitled the Texas Heartbeat Bill (SB8) into the Texas Senate and state representative Shelby Slawson of Stephenville, Texas, introduced a companion bill (HB1515) into the state house. It includes an exception for medical emergencies but includes cases where a woman or girl has become pregnant by incest or rape. Governor Greg Abbott asserts that the Act will not force a woman who has been raped to carry a pregnancy to term because the state will "work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets."[207]

The SB8 version of the bill passed both chambers and was signed into law by Texas Governor Abbott on May 19, 2021. It will take effect on September 1, 2021.[208] Rather than have the government enforce the law, private citizens will be allowed to sue the provider or anyone that helps the woman to get an abortion. Although similar, H.B NO 1515 is not to be confused with bill H.R 705, also known as the Heartbeat Protection Act of 2021, which was introduced to Congress on February 2, 2021, and sponsored by Republican Mike Kelly.[209] As both bill's note the criminalization of physician's performing abortions once a heartbeat is detected around the 6 week mark of a woman's pregnancy. The Texas Tribune wrote that "supporters of the bill hope this novel provision will trip up legal challenges to the legislation, as without state officials enforcing the ban, there will be nobody for pro-women's rights groups to sue".[22]

A key aspect in the enforcement of the HB 1515 bill is connected to the cost of being sued. As listed in the introductory act, if an organization or individual were found guilty of assisting in an abortion, each individual would be fined a minimum of $10,000.[210] In contrast to the H.R 705, the HB 1515 only mentions punishment through the $10,000 fines, whereas if found guilty under H.R 705, physicians are not only subject to receiving a fine, but are also subject to prison time as well.[211]

According to some individuals associated with the support of HB 1515, the severity of the cost of being sued is intentional. John Seago, an active legislative director for Texas Right to Life, an anti-abortion organization, exemplifies this connection. Seago notes that the cost of getting sued can act as an incentive for abortion providers to avoid administering abortions. According to the Texas Tribune, Seago said, "Have a public statement. Put it on their website that they're not scheduling appointments after six weeks",[212] in doing so individuals associated with performing abortion halt their practice, and are no longer at risk for conducting the fine.

In June 2021, 18-year-old Paxton Smith, senior class valedictorian, delivered a high school graduation speech addressing the Texas heartbeat bill rather than the one which had been pre-approved by her school saying, "I cannot give up this platform to promote complacency and peace, when there is a war on my body and a war on my rights." The speech went viral and was viewed by millions on YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter.[213]

The bill was temporarily blocked by District Court Judge Robert L. Pitman on October 6, 2021, but reinstated by an appeals court panel on October 8.

West Virginia

Two fetal heartbeat bills have been introduced in the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2019. On February 7, 2019, Ralph Rodighiero (D-Logan) filed HB 2903 entitled "The Fetal Hearbeat Act".[214] On February 8, 2019, Evan Worrell (R-Cabell) filed HB 2915.[215]

Wyoming

A fetal heartbeat bill, HB 97, was introduced in the Wyoming House of Representatives in January 2013 by Representative Kendell Kroeker. In February 2013, the bill was struck down by a house committee in a 4–5 vote.[216] [217]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Why the Guardian is changing the language it uses to describe abortion bans. Glenza. Jessica. June 7, 2019. The Guardian. June 7, 2019. 0261-3077. ACOG, which represents 58,000 physicians, says the term 'heartbeat bill' is not medically accurate. 'Pregnancy and fetal development are a continuum,' said the ACOG president, Dr Ted Anderson. 'What's interpreted as a heartbeat in these bills is actually electrically induced flickering of a portion of fetal tissue that will become the heart as the embryo develops.' ... The bans, dubbed "heartbeat" bills by supporters, have the practical effect of banning abortion before most women know they are pregnant. .
  2. News: Gordon . Mara . Early Abortion Bans: Which States Have Passed Them? . 12 May 2022 . . 5 June 2019.
  3. News: Doctors' organization: calling abortion bans 'fetal heartbeat bills' is misleading. Glenza. Jessica. June 5, 2019. The Guardian. June 7, 2019. 0261-3077.
  4. Web site: McDonald. Jessica. July 26, 2019. When Are Heartbeats Audible During Pregnancy?. FactCheck. May 7, 2022.
  5. News: Carr Smyth. Julie. Kruesi. Kimberlee. May 14, 2021. 'Fetal heartbeat' in abortion laws taps emotion, not science. AP News. Associated Press. May 7, 2022.
  6. Web site: Feibelò. Carrie. Simmons-Duffin. Selena. February 9, 2021. The Texas Abortion Ban Hinges On 'Fetal Heartbeat.' Doctors Call That Misleading. NPR. May 7, 2022. . Updated May 3, 2022..
  7. News: Irvine. Bethany. September 2, 2021. Why 'heartbeat bill' is a misleading name for Texas' near-total abortion ban. The Texas Tribune. May 6, 2022.
  8. News: Heaney. Kate. May 24, 2019. Why 'Fetal Heartbeat Bill' is a Misleading Phrase – Embryos Don't Have Hearts. The Cut. May 6, 2022. But obstetricians say the term 'fetal heartbeat' is misleading, and that this scientific misunderstanding, among countless others, may contribute to negative public opinion toward abortion. To wit: though pulsing cells can be detected in embryos as early as six weeks, this rhythm — detected by a doctor, via ultrasound — cannot be called a 'heartbeat,' because embryos don't have hearts. What is detectable at or around six weeks can more accurately be called 'cardiac activity,' says Robyn Schickler, OB/GYN and fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health. The difference between 'cardiac activity' and 'heartbeat' may seem linguistically minimal, but Schickler and others argue otherwise. At this stage, she says, what doctors can detect is essentially communication between a group of what will eventually become cardiac cells..
  9. Baran . Nicole M. . Goldman . Gretchen . Gretchen Goldman . Zelikova . Jane . August 21, 2019 . Abortion Bans Based on So-Called 'Science' Are Fraudulent . Scientific American . May 7, 2022 . So-called heartbeat bills, which ban abortion as early as after six weeks of pregnancy, are not based on science. In fact, no heart yet exists in an embryo at six weeks. Yet six states and counting enacted such bills in 2019, in addition to Alabama's near-total ban. ... Both heartbeat bills and abortion reversal laws have been opposed by leading medical groups, including the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists..
  10. Rogers. Adam. May 14, 2019. 'Heartbeat' Bills Get the Science of Fetal Heartbeats All Wrong. Wired. May 23, 2019 . 'Using the word heartbeat here is an intentional obfuscation,' [Jennifer Kerns, an ob-gyn at UC San Francisco and director of research in obstetrics and gynecology at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital] says. 'Hearing the word heartbeat plays upon people's emotions ... when in fact what it does is effectively ban abortions for many people, because many people don't even know they're pregnant at six weeks.'.
  11. News: What Do New State Abortion Laws Really Mean for Women?. Belluck. Pam. May 9, 2019. The New York Times. May 18, 2019. 0362-4331. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, an embryo is not considered a fetus until eight weeks after fertilization, which is about 10 weeks into a pregnancy. At six weeks into a pregnancy, the tissues that will become the heart are beginning to develop and a pulsing can be detected that is faster than the heartbeat of the expectant mother. Several medical experts, including those opposed to the new abortion restrictions, say that it isn't medically correct to call that pulsing a heartbeat. Rather, they say, it is the vibration or "embryonic cardiac activity" of the fetal pole, a tubelike structure that will become the heart..
  12. News: Baker . Carrie N. . Media Repeat Junk Science Behind Abortion Ban Laws: Check the Science—There is No Heartbeat at Six Weeks . May 7, 2022 . . September 7, 2021 . The Texas law bans abortion at six weeks of pregnancy, which is around four weeks after fertilization — when an embryo is the size of grain of rice. At this point in pregnancy, the embryo develops a group of cells that gain the capacity to fire electrical signals, described by Dr. Saima Aftab as 'a little flutter in the area that will become the future heart.' ... This electrical signal can only be detected by a highly sensitive ultrasound device..
  13. News: The Texas Abortion Ban Hinges On 'Fetal Heartbeat.' Doctors Call That Misleading . Simmons-Duffin . Selena . Feibel . Carrie . . 2022-05-02 . The term 'fetal heartbeat,' as used in the anti-abortion law in Texas, is misleading and not based on science, say physicians who specialize in reproductive health. .
  14. Web site: ACOG Guide to Language and Abortion . . 2022-05-16 . 'Heartbeat bill' – It is clinically inaccurate to use the word 'heartbeat' to describe the sound that can be heard on ultrasound in very early pregnancy. In fact, there are no chambers of the heart developed at the early stage in pregnancy that this word is used to describe, so there is no recognizable 'heartbeat.' What pregnant people may hear is the ultrasound machine translating electronic impulses that signify fetal cardiac activity into the sound that we recognize as a heartbeat. 'Fetal heartbeat' – Until the chambers of the heart have been developed and can be detected via ultrasound (roughly 17–20 weeks of gestation), it is not accurate to characterize the embryo's or fetus's cardiac development as a heartbeat. .
  15. Web site: Knight . Anna Staver and Cameron . Ohio's six-week abortion ban becomes law hours after Supreme Court's Dobbs decision . 2022-06-26 . The Cincinnati Enquirer. en-US.
  16. Web site: North . Anna . 2019-04-19 . The "heartbeat" bills that could ban almost all abortions, explained . 2022-06-26 . Vox . en.
  17. Web site: 2019-06-20 . For anti-abortion activists, success of 'heartbeat' bills was 10 years in the making . 2022-06-26 . Center for Public Integrity . en-US.
  18. Web site: Who Is 'Heartbeat Bill' Author Janet Porter?. "All Things Considered" transcript. NPR. May 22, 2019.
  19. Web site: 2021 Is on Track to Become the Most Devastating Antiabortion State Legislative Session in Decades . Guttmacher Institute . April 29, 2021 . June 21, 2021.
  20. News: Abortion Bans: 8 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year. K. K. Rebecca. Lai. May 15, 2019. May 26, 2019. The New York Times.
  21. Web site: Alabama's anti-abortion law isn't alone. Here are all the states pushing to restrict access. Eric Levenson. CNN. May 16, 2019. May 26, 2019.
  22. News: Abortion: Texas governor signs restrictive new law . BBC News . May 19, 2021 . June 9, 2021.
  23. News: Could miscarriages land women in jail? Let's clarify these Georgia and Alabama abortion bills.. 2019. The Washington Post.
  24. Web site: ACOG Opposes Fetal Heartbeat Legislation Restricting Women's Legal Right to Abortion . Gellhaus . Thomas . The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists . 2017-01-18 . Women often are unaware they are pregnant prior to six weeks LMP [last menstrual period] .
  25. Web site: Swalwell's tweet about new GA abortion law is slightly off. PolitiFact. May 17, 2019.
  26. News: Alabama's Terrible Law Doesn't Have to Be the Future of Abortion. The New York Times. May 11, 2019. Cari Sietstra. May 23, 2019.
  27. Web site: Abortion is still legal in America. Because that's before many people know they are pregnant, reproductive rights advocates say the "heartbeat" bills are de facto abortion bans. Anna North. Vox. May 16, 2019. May 23, 2019.
  28. Web site: Ohio's "Heartbeat" Abortion Bill Moves Forward. Quraishi, Jen. Mother Jones. July 28, 2013.
  29. Web site: New Republic: Fetal-Heartbeat Abortion Laws Are Dangerous Even If Judges Reject Them. Redden, Molly. April 1, 2013. Center for Reproductive Rights. August 4, 2013.
  30. Web site: A Fleeting Victory for Abortion Rights. July 28, 2013. Chicago Sun-Times. August 5, 2013.
  31. Solomon . Andrew . The Legitimate Children of Rape . The New Yorker . June 13, 2021. August 29, 2012.
  32. Michael M. v. Sonoma County Superior Court, 450 U.S. 464 (1981).
  33. News: Ala. law terminates parental rights for anyone convicted of first-degree rape . The Washington Post . June 13, 2021.
  34. Web site: Cohen . Li . Texas governor says new law won't force rape victims to give birth because they'll have 6 weeks to get an abortion . CBS News . September 8, 2021 . December 11, 2021.
  35. Web site: Judge calls ND's 'fetal heartbeat' abortion ban unconstitutional. Margolin, Emma. July 22, 2013. MSNBC. July 31, 2013.
  36. News: Rosenberg . Gabe . A Bill Banning Most Abortions Becomes Law In Ohio . NPR . April 11, 2019.
  37. Web site: Heartbeat Informed Consent Act (2011; 112th Congress H.R. 3130) – GovTrack.us. GovTrack.us.
  38. Web site: Louisiana Senate Approves "Heartbeat" Bill While Committee Creates New Criminal Penalties For Abortion Providers. RH Reality Check. April 25, 2012 .
  39. Web site: Abortion: A Women's Right to Know. Georgia Department of Public Health. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130824235326/http://health.state.ga.us/wrtk/. August 24, 2013. July 30, 2013.
  40. Web site: Session 2011–2012 House Bill 1077. March 12, 2012. Pennsylvania General Assembly website. July 30, 2013.
  41. Web site: Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania Governor, On Ultrasound Mandate: Just 'Close Your Eyes'. Bassett, Laura. March 15, 2012. Huffington Post. July 30, 2013.
  42. Web site: Vote on Controversial Ultrasound Bill Delayed: Medical Community's Concerns Must be Addressed. March 19, 2012. Pennsylvania Medical Society Website. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120319173301/http://www.pamedsoc.org/HomePageNews/Womens-Right-to-Know.html. March 19, 2012. July 30, 2013.
  43. Web site: A History of Key Abortion Rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court. Masci, David. Lupi, Ira. January 16, 2013. Pew Research Center. August 1, 2013.
  44. Web site: Kan. officials resist push for anti-abortion bill. Hanna, John. July 30, 2013. San Francisco Chronicle. August 2, 2013.
  45. Web site: Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act (SB 134) . rewire.news . February 10, 2019.
  46. Web site: Heartbeat Bans . rewire.news . February 10, 2019 . In January 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case, leaving the Eighth Circuit's ruling in place..
  47. Web site: PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF THE HEARTLAND, INC., EMMA GOLDMAN CLINIC, and JILL MEADOWS, M.D., v. KIM REYNOLDS ex rel. STATE OF IOWA and IOWA BOARD OF MEDICINE . CourthouseNews.com . Courthouse News Service . February 10, 2019 . May 15, 2018.
  48. Web site: ACLU Iowa . ACLU, PLANNED PARENTHOOD, EMMA GOLDMAN CLINIC FILE LAWSUIT TO BLOCK IOWA ABORTION LAW . aclu.ia.org . American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation . February 10, 2019 . May 15, 2018 . The lawsuit is being filed by the ACLU of Iowa and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America as co-counsel on behalf of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and Dr. Jill Meadows. The Emma Goldman Clinic of Iowa City is also a co-plaintiff in the case. . February 12, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190212130715/https://www.aclu-ia.org/en/news/aclu-planned-parenthood-emma-goldman-clinic-file-lawsuit-block-iowa-abortion-law . dead .
  49. Web site: ACLU, Planned Parenthood & Others File Lawsuit to Block Iowa Abortion Law . May 14, 2018 . ACLU of Iowa . May 21, 2018 . May 22, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180522042626/https://www.aclu-ia.org/en/news/aclu-planned-parenthood-others-file-lawsuit-block-iowa-abortion-law . dead .
  50. News: Gruber-Miller . Stephen . Judge temporarily blocks Iowa's 'fetal heartbeat' law while lawsuit is resolved . February 10, 2019 . Des Moines Register . June 1, 2018.
  51. News: Leys . Tony . Iowa 'fetal heartbeat' abortion restriction declared unconstitutional . February 10, 2019 . USA Today . January 23, 2019 . In his decision striking down the abortion law, Polk County District Judge Michael Huppert cited the Iowa Supreme Court's ruling last year in a challenge to a different abortion-restriction law. The high court held that "a woman's right to decide whether to terminate a pregnancy is a fundamental right under the Iowa Constitution" in that ruling..
  52. Web site: Republicans hope a challenge to Iowa's fetal heartbeat bill will overturn Roe v. Wade. How would that work? . May 1, 2018 . Des Moines Register . October 29, 2018.
  53. Web site: Text of Senate Joint Resolution 9-Introduced . legis.iowa.gov . Iowa Legislature . February 14, 2019 . A Joint Resolution proposing anamendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa that the Constitution of the State of Iowa does not secure or protect a right to or require the funding of abortion..
  54. Web site: IA SJR9 – 2019–2020 – 88th General Assembly . legiscan.com . February 14, 2019 . Introduced: on January 24, 2019.
  55. Web site: IA HJR5 – 2019–2020 – 88th General Assembly . legiscan.com . February 14, 2019 . Introduced: on February 6, 2019.
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  57. News: Pieklo . Jessica Mason . Federal Court Blocks North Dakota Heartbeat Ban, Calls on the Supreme Court to Overturn 'Roe' . February 10, 2019 . Rewire News . July 22, 2015.
  58. Web site: Heartbeat Bans . rewire.news . February 10, 2019 . As with Arkansas' law, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case. The law remains permanently blocked..
  59. News: Pierson . Brendan . 2022-08-18 . South Carolina top court puts abortion ban on hold as it hears challenge . en . Reuters . 2023-01-06.
  60. Web site: Adcox . Seanna . SC Supreme Court tosses out 6-week abortion ban, leaving it legal through 22 weeks . 2023-01-06 . Post and Courier . January 5, 2023 . en.
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  62. Web site: State attorney general: Abortions in Arkansas illegal. Worth. Sparkman. June 24, 2022. Axios. December 14, 2022.
  63. Web site: Georgia high court reinstates ban on abortions after 6 weeks. November 25, 2022. December 14, 2022.
  64. Web site: Iowa's 'fetal heartbeat' abortion law to remain blocked, court rules; Kim Reynolds to appeal. MSN. December 14, 2022.
  65. Web site: Abortion banned in Kentucky following Supreme Court Roe v. Wade ruling. FOX19 Digital. June 24, 2022 . December 14, 2022.
  66. Web site: Abortion is now banned in Louisiana. Here's what you need to know.. EMILY WOODRUFF | Staff. writer. NOLA.com. June 24, 2022 . December 14, 2022.
  67. Web site: AG Lynn Fitch certifies 'trigger law'; Mississippi abortions to be illegal in 10 days. www.wlbt.com. June 27, 2022 . December 14, 2022.
  68. Web site: Abortion ends in Missouri following SCOTUS ruling. June 24, 2022. December 14, 2022.
  69. News: Dave Kolpack . Judge puts hold on North Dakota trigger law banning abortion . 14 December 2022 . . 26 August 2022.
  70. Web site: 2023-11-07 . Ohio voters enshrine abortion access in constitution in latest win for reproductive rights . 2024-01-04 . PBS NewsHour . en-us.
  71. Web site: Brown . Melissa . Tennessee 6-week abortion ban can now take effect following court order . 2022-06-28 . The Tennessean . en-US.
  72. Web site: Alabama lawmakers weigh strict 'fetal heartbeat' abortion ban . . March 4, 2014 . September 20, 2014.
  73. Web site: Bills that passed and died during the Alabama Legislature's 2014 session . . April 6, 2014 . September 20, 2014 . Cason, Mike.
  74. Web site: Abortion in America, explained in 10 facts. Anna. North. May 16, 2019. Vox. May 26, 2019.
  75. Web site: Alabama HB314 2019 Regular Session. LegiScan. May 15, 2019.
  76. News: Alabama Lawmakers Vote to Effectively Ban Abortion in the State. Williams. Timothy. May 14, 2019. The New York Times. May 15, 2019. Blinder. Alan. 0362-4331.
  77. GovernorKayIvey . 1128781312750432262 . May 15, 2019 . Today, I signed into law the Alabama Human Life Protection Act. To the bill's many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians' deeply held belief that every life is precious & that every life is a sacred gift from God.. Ivey. Kay. May 22, 2019.
  78. News: Arkansas Senate passes fetal heartbeat law to ban most abortions . . January 31, 2013 . September 5, 2013 . Parker, Suzi.
  79. Web site: Arkansas 12-Week Abortion Ban Becomes Law . . March 6, 2013 . July 31, 2013 . Bassett, Laura.
  80. Web site: Ark. 'heartbeat' abortion law blocked – Washington Times. The Washington Times.
  81. Web site: U.S. judge strikes Arkansas' 12-week abortion ban . USA Today . March 15, 2014 . September 20, 2014 . AP.
  82. News: Callahan . Joe . State Sen. Dennis Baxley files 'heartbeat' bill . February 9, 2019 . Ocala Star Banner . February 8, 2019.
  83. Web site: HB 235 – Abortion . Florida House of Representatives . December 7, 2019.
  84. News: 'Fetal heartbeat' bill emerges in Florida Senate . February 9, 2019 . Fox 13 . February 7, 2019.
  85. News: Second lawmaker files bill in Florida Senate banning abortions after fetal heartbeat detected . February 9, 2019 . Orlando Weekly . February 8, 2019 . Rep. Mike Hill, R-Pensacola, filed an identical bill (HB 235) last month . February 8, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190208225505/https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2019/02/08/second-lawmaker-files-bill-in-florida-senate-banning-abortions-after-fetal-heartbeat-detected . dead .
  86. News: Callahan . Joe . State Sen. Dennis Baxley files 'heartbeat' bill . February 9, 2019 . Ocala Star Banner . February 8, 2019 . Doctors who perform abortions after a heartbeat is detected could face a third-degree felony, according to language written into both bills.
  87. News: Garrand . Danielle . Florida bill would ban abortions if fetal heartbeat detected . February 9, 2019 . CBS News . January 22, 2019 . an abortion can be provided if a woman has been diagnosed with a condition that "would create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function if the woman delayed terminating her pregnancy.".
  88. Web site: SB 792 (2019) - Abortion . Florida House of Representatives . December 7, 2019.
  89. News: Glorioso . Alexandra . Putnam and DeSantis vow to sign abortion-ban law if elected . February 9, 2019 . Politico . June 28, 2018 . Republican gubernatorial candidates Adam Putnam and Ron DeSantis both pledged at their first debate to sign legislation to ban abortions "after a fetal heartbeat is detected.".
  90. News: Garrand . Danielle . Florida bill would ban abortions if fetal heartbeat detected . February 9, 2019 . CBS News . January 22, 2019 . During now-Gov. Ron DeSantis' first gubernatorial debate, he pledged to sign legislation that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat was detected.
  91. News: Prabhu . Maya . Georgia Republican files 'heartbeat' bill that would effectively ban abortion . February 27, 2019 . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . February 26, 2019 . State Rep. Ed Setzler on Monday introduced House Bill 481, which would outlaw abortions once a doctor can detect a heartbeat in the womb..
  92. News: Darnell . Tim . Anti-Abortion 'Heartbeat' Bill Introduced By 2 Cobb Legislators . February 27, 2019 . Patch Media . Patch . February 26, 2019 . State Rep. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth) and Sen. Bruce Thompson (R-White) introduced Georgia's version of a "heartbeat bill," making Georgia the 12th state to introduce heartbeat legislation this year, according to the Family Policy Alliance of Georgia..
  93. News: Prabhu . Maya . Georgia Republican files 'heartbeat' bill that would effectively ban abortion . February 27, 2019 . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . February 26, 2019 . A similar bill is expected to be filed in the Senate this week..
  94. News: Jimison . Robert . Republican Lawmakers In Georgia Aim For Most Restrictive Abortion Law in The Country . February 27, 2019 . NPR . Georgia Public Radio – GPB News . February 27, 2019 . Before becoming governor, Brian Kemp campaigned on the promise to sign "the toughest abortion laws in the country." ... I back Mississippi's ban on abortions after fifteen weeks and vow to sign the toughest abortion laws in the country as your next governor. If abortion rights activists want to sue me...bring it! I'll fight for life at the Capitol and in the courtroom..
  95. Web site: 2019–2020 Regular Session – HB 481. legis.ga.gov. Georgia General Assembly. March 8, 2019.
  96. Fink . Jenni . Georgia Senator: Anti-Abortion Bill 'National Stunt' In Race To Be Conservative State To Get Roe V. Wade Overturned . March 19, 2019 . Newsweek . March 18, 2019.
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  99. News: Amy. Harmon. Fetal Heartbeat vs. Forced Pregnancy: The Language Wars of the Abortion Debate. The New York Times. May 22, 2019.
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  101. Web site: Caroline Kelly . Idaho GOP governor signs 'heartbeat' abortion ban into law . 2022-03-03 . CNN. April 28, 2021 .
  102. Web site: Cagnassola . Mary Ellen . 2021-09-01 . Idaho heartbeat abortion law almost enacted by federal court's ruling for Texas law . 2022-03-03 . Newsweek.
  103. Web site: Nearly all abortions banned in Iowa as Gov. Kim Reynolds signs 'fetal heartbeat' law . Des Moines Register . May 4, 2018.
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  109. News: Associated Press . New abortion-related fight in Kentucky heats up over fetal heartbeats . February 9, 2019 . NBC News . January 9, 2019.
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  111. News: The Latest: Kentucky Senate passes fetal heartbeat bill . https://web.archive.org/web/20190215031612/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-latest-kentucky-senate-passes-fetal-heartbeat-bill/2019/02/14/650fc8b0-30a1-11e9-8781-763619f12cb4_story.html . dead . February 15, 2019 . February 14, 2019 . The Washington Post . February 14, 2019 . The Kentucky Senate has overwhelmingly passed a bill that would ban most abortions in the state once a fetal heartbeat is detected. The Republican-led chamber's 31–6 vote on Thursday came a few hours after the measure cleared a committee. The bill now goes to the state House, which is also run by Republicans..
  112. Web site: KY SB9 – 2019 – Regular Session. LegiScan.
  113. News: Yetter . Deborah . After striking out twice, GOP tries again to 'effectively' ban abortion . February 9, 2019 . Louisville Courier Journal . January 10, 2019 . And he said he would be pleased if Kentucky or one of the other states considering similar measures enacted such a law and, in the event of court challenge, took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to overturn Roe v. Wade.
  114. News: Heller . Marsha . KY House passes fetal heartbeat bill . March 20, 2019 . KFVS 12 (CBS) . March 15, 2019 . Senate Bill 9, known as the "fetal heartbeat bill", was passed by the Kentucky House on Thursday, March 14, by a vote of 71–19..
  115. Web site: 2019 Regular Session – House Bill 100 . Kentucky General Assembly . Kentucky Legislative Research Commission . February 9, 2019.
  116. Web site: 2014 Regular Session – House Bill 132 . Kentucky General Assembly . Kentucky Legislative Research Commission . February 9, 2019.
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  118. Web site: 2013 Regular Session – House Bill 132 . Kentucky General Assembly . Kentucky Legislative Research Commission . February 9, 2019.
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  121. Web site: MD – 2019 Regular Session – HB978 . mgaleg.maryland.gov . General Assembly of Maryland . February 12, 2019.
  122. Web site: Minnesota Legislature – HF271 – 91st Legislature (2019–2020) . revisor.mn.gov . Office of the Revisor of Statutes . February 13, 2019 . Description: Abortion prohibited when a fetal heartbeat is detected with certain exceptions, and penalties provided..
  123. Web site: MS HB226 – 2018 – Regular Session. LegiScan.
  124. Web site: MS SB2143 – 2018 – Regular Session. LegiScan.
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  127. Web site: MS SB2562 – 2017 – Regular Session. LegiScan.
  128. Web site: MS SB2584 – 2017 – Regular Session. LegiScan.
  129. Web site: 2014 Regular Session – Senate Bill 2807 . Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System . February 9, 2019.
  130. Web site: MS SB2807 – 2014 – Regular Session. LegiScan.
  131. Web site: MS HB6 – 2013 – Regular Session. LegiScan.
  132. Web site: 2019 Regular Session – House Bill 529 . Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System . February 9, 2019.
  133. News: Ulmer . Sarah . House and Senate pass HeartBeat bills out of Committee . February 9, 2019 . Yall Politics . February 5, 2019.
  134. Web site: 2019 Regular Session – Senate Bill 2116 . Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System . February 9, 2019.
  135. Web site: 2019 Regular Session – House Bill 732 . Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System . February 9, 2019.
  136. News: Wagster Pettus . Emily . Mississippi advances ban on abortion after fetal heartbeat . https://web.archive.org/web/20190214062656/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/mississippi-advances-ban-on-abortion-after-fetal-heartbeat/2019/02/13/e79f5e36-2fec-11e9-8781-763619f12cb4_story.html . dead . February 14, 2019 . February 14, 2019 . The Washington Post . February 13, 2019 . The Republican-controlled Mississippi House and Senate passed separate bills Wednesday to ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, about six weeks into pregnancy..
  137. News: Fetal heartbeat bill heads to governor . March 19, 2019 . WTOK 11 (ABC) . March 19, 2019.
  138. News: Singman . Brooke . Mississippi Gov. Bryant signs 'heartbeat bill,' enacting one of strictest abortion laws in nation . March 23, 2019 . Fox News . March 22, 2019.
  139. Web site: MO HB126 – 2019 – Regular Session. LegiScan.
  140. Web site: MO SB139 – 2019 – Regular Session. LegiScan.
  141. Web site: 100th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session – HB126 . Missouri House of Representatives . February 9, 2019.
  142. Web site: MO HB126 – 2019 – Regular Session . LegiScan.com . February 16, 2019 . History . 2019-01-30 House Referred: Children and Families; 2019-02-12 House Public Hearing Completed.
  143. Web site: House and Senate Joint Bill Tracking – 2019 Regular Session – HB126 . house.mo.gov . Missouri House of Representatives . February 26, 2019 . Date/Last Action: 2/21/2019 – Reported Do Pass (H).
  144. News: Cole . Ashley . Bill to ban fetal heartbeat abortion in Missouri goes to House next . February 26, 2019 . NBC 5 . KSDK-TV . February 21, 2019 . The bill to ban fetal heartbeat abortion will go to the Missouri House next. The rules committee met Thursday morning..
  145. News: Associated Press . MO House passes fetal heartbeat bill; legislation moves to the Senate . February 28, 2019 . ABC 7 – KHQA . February 28, 2019.
  146. News: Ballentine . Summer . Abortion bill could cost Missouri $7B in Medicaid funding . February 16, 2019 . Associated Press . apnews.com . February 14, 2019 . Republican House Speaker Elijah Haahr on Thursday called a bill to ban most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected a priority.
  147. News: McKinley . Edward . Woodall . Hunter . With eye on Supreme Court, Missouri Republicans file flurry of anti-abortion bills . February 16, 2019 . The Kansas City Star . February 12, 2019 . Haahr said he supports the "heartbeat bill" and that some form of anti-abortion legislation will definitely pass the House this year..
  148. News: McKinley . Edward . Woodall . Hunter . With eye on Supreme Court, Missouri Republicans file flurry of anti-abortion bills . February 16, 2019 . The Kansas City Star . February 12, 2019 . Gov. Mike Parson, asked if he would sign such legislation, said: "I've been pro-life my entire career, and I support that all the time… I'm going to support pro-life.".
  149. Web site: Missouri bill banning abortions at 8 weeks signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson. May 24, 2019. May 25, 2019. CBS News.
  150. Web site: N.D. governor approves 6-week abortion ban, says constitutionality is "open question". CBS News. March 26, 2013 . December 7, 2016.
  151. Web site: Jones . Allie . North Dakota Is the Latest State to Have Its Abortion Law Blocked by a Federal Judge . The Atlantic . December 12, 2023 . July 22, 2013.
  152. Web site: N.D. makes next move after controversial abortion law overturned . CBS News . May 14, 2014 . August 11, 2015 . Associated Press.
  153. Web site: Williams. Pete. Supreme Court Rejects North Dakota Appeal on Abortion Restrictions. NBC News. January 25, 2016 . December 7, 2016.
  154. News: Boguhn . Ally . Janet Porter: The Architect of Ohio's 'Heartbeat' Bills . May 31, 2019 . Rewire.News . December 19, 2018.
  155. Web site: Laws, Acts, and Legislation. state.oh.us.
  156. Web site: Ohio Lawmakers Give Up On Anti-Choice Legislation. ThinkProgress.
  157. Web site: Abortion foes push fetal heartbeat bills in states. https://archive.today/20130730004016/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44879242/ns/politics-more_politics/t/abortion-foes-push-fetal-heartbeat-bills-states/. dead. July 30, 2013. MSNBC. October 12, 2011.
  158. News: Driving Force Behind Heartbeat Bill Left Out Of Bill Signing Celebration. Ingles. Jo. The Statehouse News Bureau. The Columbus Dispatch. April 18, 2019. May 29, 2019. May 17, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190517195441/https://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/28/ohio-lawmakers-attempt-to-override-veto-of-heartbeat-bill.html. dead.
  159. Web site: Laws, Acts, and Legislation. state.oh.us.
  160. Web site: Both sides of debate find Ohio abortion law decision to be historic . . July 8, 2013 . July 28, 2013 . Provance, Jim.
  161. News: Fate unclear for new anti-abortion 'heartbeat bill' . . August 15, 2013 . August 23, 2013 . Hallett, Joe . August 27, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130827055858/http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/public/2013/08/15/heartbeat-bill-reintroduced.html . dead .
  162. Web site: Ohio abortion bill creating controversy among college women . . April 6, 2015 . August 11, 2015 . Oates, Lindsey J..
  163. Web site: Ohio anti-abortion 'heartbeat bill' passes in house but likely to face opposition . The Guardian . March 25, 2015 . August 11, 2015 . Siddiqui, Sabrina.
  164. Web site: Cadinsky. Catherine. Ludlow. Randy. Siegel. Jim. House joins Senate in approving heartbeat abortion bill. The Columbus Dispatch. December 7, 2016. December 7, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161207140240/http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/06/ohio-senate-passes-heartbeat-bill.html. dead.
  165. Web site: Ohio Politics Now: Will John Kasich sign the Heartbeat bill?. Everhart. Michelle. December 7, 2016. The Columbus Dispatch. GateHouse Media and Propel/DMG. December 16, 2016. December 20, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220074913/http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/07/ohio-politics-now-will-john-kasich-sign-heartbeat-bill.html. dead.
  166. Web site: House Bill 493, As Passed By The Senate. The Ohio Legislature. The Ohio Legislature, 131st General Assembly. December 7, 2016. 46. PDF. December 6, 2016. Sec. 2919.195. (A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, no person shall knowingly and purposefully perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of the unborn human individual the pregnant woman is carrying and whose fetal heartbeat has been detected in accordance with division (A) of section 2919.192 of the Revised Code. Whoever violates this division is guilty of performing or inducing an abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, a felony of the fifth degree. (B) Division (A) of this section does not apply to a physician who performs a medical procedure that, in the physician's reasonable medical judgment, is designed or intended to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman. A physician who performs a medical procedure as described in this division shall declare, in a written document, that the medical procedure is necessary, to the best of the physician's reasonable medical judgment, to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman. In the document, the physician shall specify the pregnant woman's medical condition that the medical procedure is asserted to address and the medical rationale for the physician's conclusion that the medical procedure is necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman. A physician who performs a medical procedure as described in this division shall place the written document required by this division in the pregnant woman's medical records. The physician shall maintain a copy of the document in the physician's own records for at least seven years from the date the document is created. (C) A person is not in violation of division (A) of this section if the person acts in accordance with division (A) of section 2919.192 of the Revised Code and the method used to determine the presence of a fetal heartbeat does not reveal a fetal heartbeat. (D) Division (A) of this section does not have the effect of repealing or limiting any other provision of the Revised Code that restricts or regulates the performance or inducement of an abortion by a particular method or during a particular stage of a pregnancy..
  167. Web site: Higgs. Robert. Gov. John Kasich vetoes anti-abortion Heartbeat Bill, signs 20-week abortion ban. Cleveland.com. December 6, 2017. Columbus. December 13, 2016.
  168. Web site: Graham . Ruth . Extreme anti-abortion "heartbeat" bill passes Ohio state legislature in wave of Trump optimism . Slate.com . December 7, 2016 . December 8, 2016.
  169. Web site: Ohio's 'heartbeat bill': How conservative judges in other states gutted similar laws . Cleveland.com . December 8, 2016 . December 8, 2016.
  170. Web site: Beth Mole . "Trumpmania" abortion battle begins: Ohio passes extreme heartbeat bill . Ars Technica . May 17, 2012 . December 8, 2016.
  171. Web site: Gov. John Kasich vetoes Heartbeat Bill, signs 20-week abortion ban. Ludlow. Randy. December 13, 2016. The Columbus Dispatch. GateHouse Media and Propel/DMG. December 16, 2016. December 16, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161216025906/http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/13/John-Kasich-acts-on-abortion-bills.html. dead.
  172. Web site: Ohio House may try to override Kasich's veto of 'Heartbeat' abortion bill. https://web.archive.org/web/20161216015045/http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/14/House_considering_whether_to_override_Kasich_Heartbeat_veto.html. dead. December 16, 2016. Ludlow. Randy. December 15, 2016. The Columbus Dispatch. GateHouse Media and Propel/DMG. December 16, 2016.
  173. News: Ohio lawmakers won't attempt to override veto of 'heartbeat' bill. The Associated Press. The Columbus Dispatch. December 28, 2016. May 29, 2019. May 17, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190517195441/https://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/28/ohio-lawmakers-attempt-to-override-veto-of-heartbeat-bill.html. dead.
  174. Web site: House Bill 493 – Votes. The Ohio Legislature. December 8, 2017.
  175. News: Kalser . Karen . Heartbeat Bill Gets First Hearing For What Could Be Its Last Time Through The Legislature . February 22, 2019 . The Statehouse News Bureau . February 13, 2019 . It's the fifth time the Heartbeat Bill has been proposed. Republican House Speaker Larry Householder says he wants it to start in the Senate this time. But Rep. Ron Hood (R-Ashville) joined with fellow Republican Candice Keller (R-Middletown) to propose it in the House anyway, though he's on board with the Senate version too..
  176. News: Ohio abortion 'heartbeat bill' returns to Legislature . The Associated Press . WLWT5 (NBC) . February 12, 2019.
  177. Web site: 133rd General Assembly – House Bill 68 . legislature.ohio.gov . The Ohio Legislature . February 13, 2019.
  178. News: Frazin . Rachel . Ohio lawmakers reintroduce 'heartbeat' abortion bill . February 13, 2019 . The Hill . February 12, 2019.
  179. Web site: OH SB23 | 2019–2020 | 133rd General Assembly . legiscan.com . February 22, 2019 . Status: Introduced on February 12, 2019 . . . Action: 2019-02-13 – Refer to Committee: Health, Human Services and Medicaid.
  180. News: Kalser . Karen . Senate President Says "Heartbeat Bill" Will Pass His Chamber Next Month . February 22, 2019 . The Statehouse News Bureau . February 21, 2019 . "We are going to pass that bill by the middle of March. I have no doubt at all," said Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina)..
  181. News: Kaplan . Talia . Ohio 'heartbeat' abortion ban passes Senate as governor vows to sign it . March 19, 2019 . Fox News . March 14, 2019.
  182. News: Ohio legislature sends 'heartbeat' abortion bill to governor's desk . Frazin . Rachel . April 10, 2019 . The Hill . April 13, 2019.
  183. News: Ohio Gov. DeWine signs 'heartbeat' abortion bill . Haynes . Danielle . April 11, 2019 . UPI . April 13, 2019.
  184. Web site: Ohio Governor Signs Ban on Abortion After First Heartbeat | Time. April 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190412001011/http://time.com/5568922/ohio-ban-abortion-first-heartbeat/ . December 14, 2022. April 12, 2019 .
  185. News: Ohio governor to sign ban on abortion after first detectable heartbeat . CNBC . April 11, 2019.
  186. News: U.S. judge blocks Ohio 'heartbeat' law to end most abortions. July 4, 2019. Reuters. October 19, 2019.
  187. News: Oklahoma governor signs fetal heartbeat bill . April 28, 2012 . NewsOK.com . March 4, 2019.
  188. Web site: Regular Session 2017–2018 – House Bill 2315 . legis.state.pa.us . Pennsylvania General Assembly . February 16, 2019 . Referred to JUDICIARY, May 2, 2018 [House].
  189. Web site: PA HB2315 | 2017–2018 | Regular Session . legiscan.com . Legi Scan . February 16, 2019 . Status: Introduced on May 2, 2018 – 25% progression, died in committee Action: 2018-05-02 – Referred to JUDICIARY.
  190. Web site: SC – 123rd General Assembly – House Bill 3020 . LegisScan . February 9, 2019.
  191. Web site: SC – 123rd General Assembly – House Bill 3020 . LegisScan . February 9, 2019.
  192. Web site: Durkee. Alison. February 19, 2021. South Carolina Abortion Law Blocked One Day After Taking Effect. 2021-02-22. Forbes.
  193. Web site: SC – 122nd General Assembly – House Bill 5403. LegiScan.
  194. Web site: Navarro. Marcus. February 18, 2021. South Carolina governor signs bill banning abortion of fetus after heartbeat is detected. 2021-02-21. USA Today.
  195. Web site: TN HB0077 | 2019–2020 | 111th General Assembly . legiscan.com . Legi Scan . February 21, 2019 . Summary: As introduced, prohibits abortions from the point a fetal heartbeat is detected.
  196. Web site: TN SB1236 | 2019–2020 | 111th General Assembly . legiscan.com . Legi Scna . February 21, 2019 . Summary: As introduced, prohibits abortions from the point a fetal heartbeat is detected.
  197. News: Wadhwani . Anita . 'Heartbeat' abortion ban advances in Tennessee legislature . February 20, 2019 . USA Today Network . Tennessean . February 20, 2019 . A bill that would outlaw abortions in Tennessee after a fetal heartbeat can be detected advanced out of a legislative subcommittee on Wednesday. The measure, proposed by state Rep. Micah Van Huss, R-Jonesborough, and state Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, would make it a crime to perform an abortion in Tennessee once a fetal heartbeat can be detected — which typically occurs in the early weeks of a woman's pregnancy..
  198. News: Kruesi . Kimberlee . Abortion: Tennessee lawmakers advance fetal heartbeat bill . February 26, 2019 . Associated Press . ABC 6 . February 26, 2019 . Republicans on the House Health Committee voted 15–4 to send the legislation to the House floor for a full vote . February 27, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190227122320/https://www.wate.com/news/tennessee/tennessee-advances-fetal-heartbeat-bill/1811844041 . dead .
  199. News: Wadhwani . Anita . Bill that bans abortions in Tennessee after fetal heart beat sails through House committee . February 26, 2019 . USA Today Network . Tennessean . February 26, 2019 . A House committee voted 15–4 in favor of a bill that would ban most abortions in Tennessee, getting one step closer to a vote by the legislature on one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the nation. The so-called "fetal heartbeat" bill is making its way through Senate committees, but easily passed early hurdles. Tuesday's vote in the health committee means the bill moves on to a vote by the House of Representatives..
  200. News: Samuels . Brett . Tennessee state House passes 'fetal heartbeat' abortion ban . March 8, 2019 . The Hill . March 8, 2019 . The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would outlaw abortions in the state after a fetus has a detectable heartbeat. . . The legislation passed 66–21..
  201. Web site: Texas Legislators File Radical 'Fetal Heartbeat' Bill To Ban Abortion After Just Six Weeks. July 18, 2013 . 2021-06-02.
  202. Web site: Texas Legislature Online – 83(2) History for HB 59. Texas Legislature Online. Texas Legislature. December 7, 2016.
  203. Web site: Representative Cain Files The Texas Heartbeat Bill . house.texas.gov . Texas House of Representatives . February 9, 2019.
  204. Web site: Texas Legislature Online – 86 History for HB 1500 . Texas Legislature . February 9, 2019.
  205. News: Young . Stephen . More Than a Third of the Texas House Is Backing a Stealth Abortion Ban . February 26, 2019 . Dallas Observer . February 26, 2019 . Fifty-seven of the 150 member body of the Texas House have signed on as authors, co-authors or sponsors of Cain's legislation..
  206. Camarillo . Vicky . The 'Fetal Heartbeat' Bill Has 57 Authors. All but 3 of them Are Men. . February 26, 2019 . Texas Observer . February 26, 2019 . Former state Senator Wendy Davis called the bill "the most dangerous I've ever seen" in a call to action last week..
  207. Web site: Treisman . Rachel . Fact Check: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's Misleading Remarks On The State's Abortion Law . NPR . September 8, 2021 . May 17, 2022.
  208. Najmabadi, Shannon. Gov. Greg Abbott signs into law one of nation's strictest abortion measures, banning procedure as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, Texas Tribune, May 19, 2021.
  209. Web site: 2021-02-02. All Information (Except Text) for H.R.705 - Heartbeat Protection Act of 2021. Congress.gov.
  210. Web site: 2021. texas house bill 1515. 19 July 2021. LegiScan.
  211. Web site: All Information (Except Text) for H.R.705 - Heartbeat Protection Act of 2021. 19 July 2021. congress.gov. March 22, 2021.
  212. Web site: Najmabadi. Shannon. Gov. Greg Abbott signs into law one of the nation's strictest abortion measures, banning procedure as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. May 19, 2021. 18 July 2021.
  213. News: Abortion: Texas teen attacks new law in high school graduation speech . BBC News . June 3, 2021 . June 18, 2021.
  214. Web site: WV – 2019 Regular Session – HB2903. West Virginia Legislature. February 7, 2019. February 12, 2019.
  215. Web site: WV – 2019 Regular Session – HB2915. West Virginia Legislature. February 8, 2019. February 12, 2019.
  216. Web site: Wyoming House Panel votes down abortion bill . Casper Star-Tribune . January 29, 2013 . July 28, 2013 . Hancock. Laura.
  217. Web site: WY HB0097 – 2013 – Regular Session. LegiScan. 2013. May 11, 2022.

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