--- description: A bill introduced in Ohio's legislature suggests that doctors should try to save ectopic pregnancies by reimplanting the fetus in the uterus. title: Ohio Bill Says Doctors Who Perform Abortions Could Face Jail, Unless They Perform a Non-Existent Treatment image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae9b8f0a29c14384/698a06d209208faf7b415f47/Ohio-State-House.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Ohio](/tag/ohio/) ## Ohio Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ohio Bill Suggests Doctors Who Perform Abortions Could Face Jail, Unless They Perform a Non-Existent Treatment  by [Tara Law](/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 1, 2019 6:21 PM CUT  The Ohio Statehouse, located in Columbus, Ohio, is the house of government for the state of Ohio The Ohio Statehouse, located in Columbus, Ohio, is the house of government for the state of OhioGetty Images/iStockphoto—DenisTangneyJr  by [Tara Law](/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 1, 2019 6:21 PM CUT A bill introduced in Ohio’s legislature would make physicians who end pregnancies guilty of “abortion murder” suggests that doctors should try to save ectopic pregnancies, in which a pregnancy grows outside of the uterus, by reimplanting the fetus in the uterus. It’s a procedure that [does not exist](https://rewire.news/article/2019/05/17/science-fiction-behind-ohio-reps-ban-insurance-ectopic-pregnancy/ "undefined"). Under [the bill](https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/legislation-summary?id=GA133-HB-413 "undefined"), physicians who perform abortions would face 15 years to life in prison — unless the mother’s life is in danger, or if the physician “takes all possible steps” to save the fetus’ life. The bill claims that one example of a procedure to protect the fetus would be “attempting to reimplant an ectopic pregnancy into the woman’s uterus.” There’s currently [no way to medically reimplant](https://www.vox.com/2019/9/11/20859034/ectopic-pregnancy-abortion-federalist-intrauterine-ohio-surgery "undefined") ectopic pregnancies. As such pregnancies can be fatal, physicians typically will remove the ectopic tissue [medically or through surgery](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ectopic-pregnancy/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20372093 "undefined"). In essence, the bill seems to suggest that doctors could avoid jail time by performing a procedure that does not exist. This isn’t the first time that Ohio legislation has mentioned reimplanting pregnancies. Earlier this year, [another abortion bill ](undefined "undefined")would have banned insurance coverage for “nontheraputic abortions” — but included an exception for reimplanting ectopic pregnancies. Most anti-abortion advocates do not support such a procedure. The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists [argues ](https://aaplog.org/what-is-aaplogs-position-on-treatment-of-ectopic-pregnancy/ "undefined")that pro-life physicians should end such ectopic pregnancies as “There is no chance for survival of the child, either inside or outside the womb, but there is a very real, imminent danger of death or disability for the mother.” Recently, however, some advocates have raised the possibility that physicians should try to save ectopic pregnancies. In a September article in the conservative magazine the Federalist, an author said that “abortion is never the answer” and that doctors should consider other options for treating such pregnancies. The author later [apologized](https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/19/i-was-wrong-sometimes-its-necessary-to-remove-ectopic-babies-to-save-their-mothers-life/ "undefined") for the story, but physicians sharply criticized the article, explaining that such thinking could endanger patients. Dr. Daniel Grossman, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, [told Vox ](https://www.vox.com/2019/9/11/20859034/ectopic-pregnancy-abortion-federalist-intrauterine-ohio-surgery "undefined")that this argument “could lead some patients to really question the advice of their doctor and maybe wait longer before getting the necessary treatment and put their lives at risk.” In recent years, legislators in Ohio and other states have [repeatedly attempted](https://time.com/5624770/abortion-rights-states-nirh-report/ "undefined") to ban or strictly limit abortion access. Many of these bills include on scientifically dubious claims. For instance, [Ohio](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-abortion-ohio-idUSKCN1TY2PK "undefined") and several other states have passed [“heartbeat” bills](https://time.com/5591166/state-abortion-laws-explained/ "undefined"), which would ban abortions after a “fetal heartbeat” is detected; however, scientists say that a fetus does not possess what most people would call a heart at such an early period of development. However, courts have repeatedly ruled that such legislation is [unconstitutional](https://time.com/4593771/ohio-heartbeat-bill/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5742053/ectopic-pregnancy-ohio-abortion-bill/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5742053/ectopic-pregnancy-ohio-abortion-bill/"},"headline":"Ohio Bill Suggests Doctors Who Perform Abortions Could Face Jail, Unless They Perform a Non-Existent Treatment","datePublished":"2019-12-01T18:21:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T07:50:27.483Z","description":"Under the bill, physicians who perform abortions would face 15 years to life in prison","url":"https://time.com/5742053/ectopic-pregnancy-ohio-abortion-bill/","keywords":["Ohio","abortion","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae9b8f0a29c14384/698a06d209208faf7b415f47/Ohio-State-House.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara Law","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-law/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae9b8f0a29c14384/698a06d209208faf7b415f47/Ohio-State-House.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ohio-Statehouse","caption":"Ohio Statehouse","creditText":"Getty Images/iStockphoto—DenisTangneyJr","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ohio/","name":"Ohio"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5742053/ectopic-pregnancy-ohio-abortion-bill/","name":"Ohio Bill Suggests Doctors Who Perform Abortions Could Face Jail, Unless They Perform a Non-Existent Treatment"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Here Are the Details of the Abortion Legislation in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Elsewhere","description":"On May 15, Alabama’s governor signed the most aggressively anti-abortion law in recent American history","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/V1cnUpT3/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2019-06-20T17:44:43.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/V1cnUpT3.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5742053/ectopic-pregnancy-ohio-abortion-bill/","duration":"PT2M6S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5742053/ectopic-pregnancy-ohio-abortion-bill/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```