Ohio enacts law using Down syndrome to ban abortion

Since anti-choice lawmakers can’t outright ban abortion (though that may well change come the next Supreme Court retirement), they instead try every trick they can think of to limit women’s access: banning late-term abortions, banning abortions upon detection of a fetal heartbeat (which happens before many women even realize they’re pregnant), imposing ridiculous regulations to force clinics to shut down, and so on.

Now, Ohio legislators have found a new one: using a congenital disorder as an excuse to further restrict women’s right to choose, all under the guise of preventing “discrimination”.

Ohio is prohibiting doctors from performing abortions in cases where tests reveal the fetus has or likely has Down syndrome.

Republican Gov. John Kasich signed the legislation Friday and the law goes into effect in 90 days. "The governor is pro-life and supports policies that protect the sanctity of life," press secretary Jon Keeling tells CNN.

The law prohibits abortions after prenatal tests reveal Down syndrome in a fetus or if there's "any other reason to believe" the fetus has the genetic condition.

A person performing an abortion in such a case could face a fourth-degree felony charge, and physicians could lose their licenses. The woman seeking the abortion would not be held accountable, according to the legislation.

The idea that Republicans and anti-abortion crusaders (but I repeat myself) give the slightest damn about discrimination is the funniest thing I’ve heard today. Down’s is no more than a convenient angle for them to exploit, especially given that it makes it more difficult for opponents to argue against this law without losing the optics game. The only ones engaging in discrimination here are the people on an ideological crusade to stamp down on women’s agency and bodily autonomy.

There’s little chance this law will go unchallenged; I suspect the ACLU is sharpening its litigious knives even now. That said, using other states as a predictor is tricky; North Dakota and Indiana both passed similar laws, and whilst a federal judge blocked the Indiana law, North Dakota’s has been on the books for years already.