Ohio lawmakers fail to overturn fetal heartbeat bill veto

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WKRC) - Ohio will not implement one of the toughest anti-abortion laws in the country -- at least not yet.

The state legislature failed to override Gov. John Kasich's veto of the fetal heartbeat bill. That bill would have outlawed abortion as soon as a heartbeat is detected, which is potentially as early as six weeks into pregnancy.

In the House, the veto of the fetal heartbeat bill was easily overridden. The vote there against the governor was more than 2:1. The Senate also had more votes to override than to sustain, but not enough: Override there needed 20 votes. It got 19.

The political dynamics of all this were interesting, to say the least. For the most part, you had Democrats voting to support the Republican governor, and you had Republicans voting against him.

"The governor's been MIA, gallivanting around the country, is on every talk show on Sunday. And [he] really just hasn't been around to have his input, so for us to pass the bills and then for him to say, 'No, I don't like them,' I think we were just tired of him," said Ohio Rep. Tom Brinkman of Mt. Lookout.

"I voted not to override the governor's veto. I think these are very personal decisions that need to be made between a woman and her doctor, and so we have no business legislating those important medical decisions on the floor of the Ohio House," said Ohio Rep. Brigid Kelly of Norwood.

Both the Senate and the House did override two other Kasich vetoes. The governor had vetoed a gun bill; he wanted it to be tougher with the "red flag" ability to block certain individuals from getting a weapon.

The governor had also vetoed a pay raise for elected officials, which was tied to a measure increasing benefits for the widows, widowers and children of first responders who died in the line of duty. That was overridden too.

As for the fetal heartbeat bill, it may be back in the legislature again. Governor-elect Mike DeWine has indicated he would sign it. If that happens, it will no doubt end up in court.

"There are a lot of places where we could be spending resources in the state of Ohio, and fighting legal battles over unconstitutional laws is not the place where we should be spending those precious resources," Kelly said.

"The pro-life cause continues, and we'll continue to fight for it," said Brinkman.

The fetal heartbeat bill that Kasich vetoed would have made doctors who performed an abortion potentially subject to a year in prison.