Heartbeat bill
A heartbeat bill or fetal heartbeat bill is a controversial form of abortion restriction legislation in the United States which makes abortions illegal as soon as the embryonic or fetal heartbeat can be detected.
In 2013, North Dakota became the first state to pass a heartbeat law. In 2015, the law was ruled unconstitutional under the precedent set by the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. Several states proposed heartbeat bills in 2018 and 2019; in 2019, such bills passed in Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana, and Missouri. Heartbeat laws in Iowa, Kentucky and Mississippi were invalidated by courts. According to CNN, heartbeat bills "may be unenforceable . But abortion opponents are hoping that will serve as a vehicle for the Supreme Court to eventually overturn the Roe ruling."
A fetal heartbeat can be detected at about six to seven weeks of pregnancy, but may not be detectable until 12 weeks' gestation when a Doppler fetal monitor is used. Many women who are pregnant remain unaware of their pregnancies at six weeks from their last period. Most women who have an abortion do so after six weeks' gestation. Abortion-rights activists contend that because of this, the fetal heartbeat bills are de facto bans on abortion in the majority of cases.
Controversy
Controversy exists surrounding fetal heartbeat laws in part because there is debate on the point at which a conceptus's heartbeat can be detected. In 2013, when the Wyoming House of Representatives considered a heartbeat bill, Norine Kasperik "noted that...she heard different answers to when a heartbeat is detectable. To her, there seemed to be variation by medical equipment used." Similarly, Mary Throne inquired, "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 conceptuses' heartbeats become detectable at the same time, even when measured using the same methods.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. With specific regard to the North Dakota law, detecting a conceptus' 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.
The leading activist for the passage of heartbeat legislation, and the author of the original 2011 Ohio House Bill 493, was anti-abortion activist Janet Porter. Porter is the founder of conservative Christian ministry Faith2Action, which, in 2018, was designated as an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Constitutionality
Critics of fetal heartbeat bills say that, since Roe v. Wade established that states must allow abortion until the point of viability, that such bills "blatantly contradict" Supreme Court precedent. The 2013 North Dakota heartbeat law was ruled in District Court to be "clearly invalid and unconstitutional based on the United States Supreme Court precedent in Roe v. Wade."Proponents of fetal heartbeat laws contend that the Constitutional precedent of Roe V Wade should be re-examined in light of advancements in law and science. Ohio governor Mike DeWine argued that the main purpose of the bills are to ""protect the most vulnerable among us, those who don't have a voice", and that "Government's role should be to protect life from the beginning to the end."
Accuracy of terms
Some critics challenge the wording in the bills as misleading and inaccurate, stating it is not accurate to term the activity of the embryonic tubular heart a "fetal heartbeat", as at that stage the conceptus is still only an embryo. Medically, the term "embryonic" is used up to around eight weeks after fertilization, and "fetal" from the beginning of the ninth week. Jennifer Keats, an ob-gyn at University of California, San Francisco, stated that the fetus' 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."In the medical literature the terms "heartbeat", "heart activity" and "cardiac activity" are all used during embryonic development.
"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. 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. Similar laws have been passed in states such as Georgia in 2005; and a law that mandated both an ultrasound of the fetus and listening to its heartbeat before an abortion could be procured was laid on the table in 2012 in Pennsylvania. 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. 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.""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. 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." Likewise, 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, prefers instead a legislative strategy that chips away at Roe v. Wade.
Legal challenges
Arkansas lawsuit
On May 27, 2015, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling and permanently blocked the law from being enforced. In January 2016, The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case, leaving the Eighth Circuit's ruling in place.Iowa lawsuit
On May 15, 2018, eleven days after Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed SF 359 into law, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc., Jill Meadows, M.D., and Emma Goldman Clinic filed a lawsuit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief in state court arguing the fetal heartbeat law violated the Iowa State Constitution. On June 1, 2018, Polk County District Court Judge Michael Huppert entered a preliminary injunction which temporarily blocked the law from going into effect. 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." 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.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.” 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.
North Dakota lawsuit
In July 2015, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision blocking HB 1456 from going into effect. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case and the law remains permanently blocked.Kentucky lawsuit
Kentucky already has three lawsuits over abortion restrictions.States
Summary table
Legislative history
Laws passed
Alabama
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. The bill later died in committee.In 2019, Alabama passed an abortion law that is more far-reaching than a heartbeat law. On April 2, 2019, House Bill 314 banning abortions at every stage of pregnancy and criminalizing the procedure for doctors, was introduced into the House. The bill passed the House on April 30, passed the Senate on May 14, and was signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey on May 16.
Arkansas
A fetal heartbeat bill, banning abortion after twelve weeks, was passed on January 31, 2013 by the Arkansas Senate, vetoed in Arkansas by Governor Mike Beebe, but, on March 6, 2013, his veto was overridden by the Arkansas House of Representatives. A federal judge issued a temporary injunction against the Arkansas law in May 2013, and in March 2014, it was struck down by federal judge Susan Webber Wright, who described the law as unconstitutional.Florida
Two fetal heartbeat bills were filed in the Florida Legislature in 2019. Rep. Mike Hill filed a fetal heartbeat bill on January 10, 2019 in the Florida House of Representatives. A companion bill, was filed in the Florida Senate on February 6, 2019 by Sen. Dennis Baxley. The bills, which are identical, would have made it a third-degree felony for a doctor to perform an abortion on a woman after a fetal heartbeat is detected, 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." Both bills died in committee.Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has pledged to sign legislation that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat was detected.
Georgia
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. A similar bill is expected to be filed in the Georgia State Senate by Sen. Bruce Thompson soon. During his campaign for Governor, Brian Kemp, now the Governor of Georgia, "vow 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." After being passed in the House on March 7, 2019, HB 481 was passed out of a Senate committee on March 18, 2019. It was subsequently passed by the entire state Senate, after which it was narrowly passed by the House 92-78. 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.
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."
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. 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. 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. The bill was known as House Bill 2324, "An act prohibiting an abortion of an unborn human individual with a detectable fetal heartbeat."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. 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. 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. Sen. Matt Castlen introduced SB 9 in the Kentucky Senate on January 8, 2019. On February 14, 2019, SB 9 passed out of the Kentucky Senate by a 31–6 vote. The bill was received in the House on February 15, 2019, where it now awaits action by the Kentucky House of Representatives. Damon Thayer, the Senate Republican floor leader said SB 9 "absolutely" is a priority for the chamber and he hopes to hold a full hearing soon on the bill. He 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. On March 14, 2019, the Kentucky House passed SB 9 by a vote of 71–19.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. 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. In 2013, Rep. Fischer introduced the same bill with the same bill number on January 11, 2013. The bill was referred to the House Health and Welfare Committee on February 20, 2013, where the bill died.
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. On February 8, 2019, Robin L. Grammer, Jr. filed HB 978, a bill entitled "Keep Our Hearts Beating Act."Minnesota
On January 22, 2019, Tim Miller filed HF 271 in the Minnesota House of Representatives.Mississippi
In 2018, three heartbeat bills were filed in Mississippi; all of which died in committee. In 2017, three heartbeat bills were filed in Mississippi; all of which died in committee. In 2014, Sen. Joey Fillingane, filed a heartbeat bill in the Mississippi State Senate. The bill died in committee. In 2013, HB 6, was introduced in January and died in committee on February 5, 2013.Another fetal heartbeat bill filed in 2019, HB 529 by Robert Foster died the House Judiciary A Committee on February 5, 2019.
Three fetal heartbeat bills were filed in the Mississippi Legislature in January 2019.
SB 2116, by Sen. Angela Burks Hill was referred to the Public Health and Welfare Committee on January 11, 2019.
HB 732, by Rep. Chris Borwn was referred to the Public Health and Human Services Committee on January 17, 2019. 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. On March 19, 2019, the Senate concurred in the House amendments to SB 2116, and on March 22, 2019 the fetal heartbeat bill was signed into law by Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant.
Missouri
Two fetal heartbeat bills have been filed in Missouri on January 9, 2019. SB 139 was filed in the Missouri Senate by Sen. Andrew Koenig; the bill is pending in the Health and Pensions Committee. HB 126 was filed in the Missouri House of Representatives by Rep. Nick Schroer. 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. On February 21, 2018, HB 126 was voted out of committee to the full House with the recommendation that it "do pass." On February 27, 2019, HB 126 was passed out of the Missouri House and was sent to the state Senate. Missouri's House Speaker Elijah Haahr has said he supports the “heartbeat bill” calling it a top priority for the 2019 session. 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."The bill was signed on May 24, 2019 with an effective date of August 26, 2018. The bill bans abortions after 8 weeks, with no exceptions for rape or incest.
North Dakota
North Dakota HB 1456 was signed into law in March 2013 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.In July of that year, a lawsuit had been filed with regard to the law by the Center for Reproductive Rights, 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. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, but the court denied a writ of certiorari in January 2015 and let stand the decision of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ohio
In Ohio, a fetal heartbeat bill, HB 125, was co-authored by Janet Porter, was introduced in the state legislature in October 2011. The bill was shelved by the Republican majority Senate to avoid controversy. This bill was notably supported by Jack Willke. The original Bill was authored by Janet Porter of Faith2Action; former Governor John Kasich vetoed it twice prior to its passing.A related law was signed in Ohio in 2013 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." A further fetal heartbeat bill, based on Porter's original, was introduced on August 14, 2013, by Lynn Wachtmann and others.
On March 25, 2015, another heartbeat bill passed the Ohio House of Representatives. 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."
On December 6, 2016, the Ohio Senate added a heartbeat ban provision to an unrelated bill, , previously passed by the Ohio House of Representatives. The bill was returned to the House and passed by the House the same day. 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." On December 13, 2016, Kasich vetoed the bill, on the basis that it was unconstitutional and would almost certainly be struck down if challenged in court. 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. However, the House leadership opted not to call lawmakers back to Columbus before the end of the year, ensuring Kasich's veto would stand.
The bill passed the Ohio Senate with a vote of 21 yeas, out of 33 seats in the senate; it received 10 nays:
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:
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. On February 11, 2019, Christina Hagan and Ron Hood filed HB 68, which was introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives on February 12, 2019. On February 12, 2019, Kristina Roegner filed SB 23 in the Ohio Senate; the bill was referred to the Health, Human Services and Medicaid Committee on February 13, 2019. 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.” On March 13, 2019, SB 23 was passed out of the Ohio Senate by a vote of 19 to 13. The next month, the Ohio House amended the bill, and passed it, 56–40; the changes were ratified in the Senate, 18-13. The bill was signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine on April 11, 2019. On the third of July 2019, a federal judge blocked the implementation of the bill temporarily, just days before the law was to take effect.
Oklahoma
A fetal heartbeat bill 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.Pennsylvania
A fetal heartbeat bill was introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on May 2, 2018, primarily sponsored by Rep Richard Saccone. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee where it died.South Carolina
Rep. prefiled HB 3020 in the South Carolina House of Representatives in December 2018. The bill, which is entitled "Fetal Heartbeat Protection from Abortion Act", was introduced on January 8, 2018 and referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Previous attempts to pass fetal heartbeat bills in the South Carolina General Assembly have failed.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. On February 7, 2019, Sen. Mark Pody filed SB 1236 in the Tennessee Senate. On February 20, 2019, HB 77 was passed out of a Public Health subcommittee and sent to the full committee. On February 26, 2019, the House Public Health Committee voted 15–4 to send HB 77 to the House floor for a full vote. On February 7, 2019, HB 77 was passed out of the Tennessee House by a vote of 66–21.Texas
On February 7, 2019, Briscoe Cain, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, introduced a fetal heartbeat bill entitled the Texas Heartbeat Bill. The bill is joint authored by Representatives Phil King, Dan Flynn, Tan Parker, and Rick Miller. As of February 26, 2019, HB 1500 had 57 sponsors or cosponsors of the 150 members of the Texas House of Representatives. Former State Senator Wendy Davis said HB 1500 is “the most dangerous I’ve ever seen."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. The bill was not passed.