COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A bill banning abortion after a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome has cleared the Ohio General Assembly and will now go to Gov. John Kasich's desk.
The Ohio Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to House Bill 214 in a 20-12 vote. The bill was passed by the House in November.
Three Republicans, including Gayle Manning of North Ridgeville and Matt Dolan of Chagrin Falls, voted with Democrats against the bill.
Kasich, who has signed 18 abortion restrictions into law since 2011, told cleveland.com last month he generally supported the idea but wanted to see the legislation before deciding how to act.
The bill makes it illegal for a doctor to perform an abortion knowing the fetus has been diagnosed with or is likely to have Down syndrome from a prenatal test. Doing so would be a fourth-degree felony, punishable with up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Women who have abortions in violation of the law would face no penalties.
No one knows how many Ohio abortions are sought because of a possible Down syndrome diagnosis; the state doesn't keep track of reasons for abortions. But, nationally, studies have shown abortion rates for the practice likely range from 50 to 85 percent, according to a 2012 survey of abortion studies published in the journal Prenatal Diagnosis.
The bill passed Wednesday with little discussion on the Senate floor. Protesters wearing shirts spelling "stop the bans" stood silently behind senators as they cast their votes. The upper chamber had previously passed its own version of the bill.
The bill was a priority for Ohio Right to Life, the state's largest anti-abortion lobby.
"Both the House and the Senate sent a loud message that we are a society built on compassion, love, equality," Ohio Right to Life President Michael Gonidakis. "We expect Gov. Kasich will sign this legislation, as he said he would in 2015. Every Ohioan deserves the right to life, no matter how many chromosomes they have."
The ACLU of Ohio urged Kasich to veto the legislation, saying it is unconstitutional and undermines the patient-doctor relationship.
"This bill does nothing to improve the lives of people with disabilities, nor increase their access to health care or other services, nor does it educate a woman and her family about having a child with a disability," Gary Daniels, chief lobbyist for the ACLU of Ohio, said in a statement. "It only further restricts a woman's ability to make a decision about ending a pregnancy."
The bill divided the disability community, with some saying the bill ends discrimination and others saying it will not help Ohioans who have the genetic disorder.
Similar laws have been passed in North Dakota, Indiana and Louisiana. An Indiana judge found the law there unconstitutional because it restricts women's right to an abortion before the pregnancy is viable.