Overview

• Republican state Reps. Levi Dean and Johnathan Newman will formally file the Prenatal Equal Protection Act in Columbus to treat abortion as homicide
• The legislation would grant fetuses full legal personhood from fertilization and criminalize abortion except for spontaneous miscarriage or to save the pregnant woman’s life
• Supporters contend the measure invokes the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause to supersede Ohio’s existing abortion rights amendment
• Opponents including abortion rights advocates and Ohio Right to Life warn it defies voter approval, risks penalizing women and providers, and could restrict IVF and some contraceptives
• Legal analysts say the proposal is likely to prompt immediate court challenges that could reach Ohio’s Supreme Court or the U.S. Supreme Court