Overview

• Republican Reps. Levi Dean and Johnathan Newman will formally introduce the bill on Wednesday to recognize embryos as full legal persons and prohibit nearly all abortions in Ohio
• Backers invoke the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause to argue that the 2023 voter-approved amendment guaranteeing abortion rights is invalid
• The proposal allows exceptions only for spontaneous miscarriages or to save a pregnant woman’s life and would criminalize both providers and patients
• Supporters cast the act as a moral duty to protect every human life; critics say it contradicts the electorate’s will and threatens patients with prosecution
• Legal experts anticipate immediate court challenges and reproductive health specialists warn the personhood definition could disrupt IVF treatments