Is Ohio abortion law clear? Gov. DeWine, Nan Whaley clash over 10-year-old rape victim

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine believes that a 10-year-old rape victim could have gotten an abortion in Ohio rather than fleeing to Indiana.

But if doctors disagree, Ohio legislators must clarify that law, DeWine told the Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer editorial board Thursday.

The video conference was likely his only joint appearance with Democratic challenger Nan Whaley, the former mayor of Dayton, after DeWine skipped debates and declined an interview with USA TODAY Network editorial editors from around Ohio.

Abortion has become a key debate in the gubernatorial race since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. Hours later, Ohio imposed a 2019 law that banned doctors from performing abortions after cardiac activity is detected, which is about six weeks into pregnancy.

Ohio's six-week abortion ban, which DeWine signed into law, is now on hold by a court order. Republican Attorney General Dave Yost is appealing the judge's decision.

Ohio's GOP-controlled Legislature is expected to pass abortion legislation later this year. Some are advocating for banning the procedure at conception. Others are more interested in clarifying exemptions to save the mother's life. Doctors who illegally perform abortions face criminal penalties and loss of their medical licenses, so the ambiguity has real consequences for physicians and patients alike, opponents of the law say.

Will DeWine sign a near-total abortion ban?

DeWine dodged questions from Whaley and the media about whether he would sign a bill banning all or nearly all abortions in the state. But he did hint that the threat of a constitutional amendment on abortion access could rein in GOP lawmakers.

"I want to protect human life. I'm not going to deviate," DeWine said. "But we also have to understand and the Legislature, I'm sure is going to consider the fact that, in Ohio, we have the right to referendum. We have the right for the people to go to the ballot."

Advocates for abortion access are working on a constitutional amendment that voters could see as soon as 2023 or 2024.

DeWine said lawmakers should "aim to achieve something in the passage of a bill that will be sustainable for a number of years."

Could the 10-year-old rape victim have gotten an abortion in Ohio? Is the law clear?

Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins recently blocked Ohio's six-week abortion ban, in part, because he determined that the law was too vague.

Cancer patients were unable to obtain abortions to continue treatment − either because of the law's limitations or confusion surrounding it, according to court affidavits. With no exception for rape or incest, sexual assault victims sought abortions elsewhere.

DeWine, a former county prosecutor and attorney general, said he believes a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled to Indiana for an abortion could have obtained one in Ohio instead.

"My belief would be that that 10-year-old would have been able to have an abortion in Ohio because of that (exception)," DeWine told the editorial board. "If I was wrong, and we're going to hear more from medical professionals, then these are the things that we will need to work out, that the Legislature will work out as it debates this bill."

Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, recently told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau that clarifying when doctors can perform abortions to save Ohioans' lives is a top priority for the final months of the year. DeWine said he would urge legislators to "clear up all ambiguity."

But Whaley contends that the ambiguity has already had real-life consequences.

"This isn't a bill, governor," Whaley said. "This is a law that you already signed that had implications in the state."

More:Do 10-year-olds meet 'life of mother' abortion exemptions? Ohio lawmakers, doctors divided

Is Nan Whaley 'radical' on abortion?

DeWine said Thursday that Whaley's position on abortion access is "radical" and outside what most Ohioans support. In a 2017 Columbus Dispatch candidate survey, Whaley checked the box marked "abortion should be legal with no exceptions." Whaley was running in the Democratic primary for governor at the time.

"That's a radical position," DeWine told the Cleveland.com editorial board. "You're the one who is out of the mainstream of what Ohioans think."

On the 2022 campaign trail, Whaley has said that she supports abortion access in line with Roe v. Wade, which permitted the procedure up to viability. If elected, Whaley promised to push for a constitutional amendment to codify Roe.

"Clear the deck on what the Statehouse did. Put Roe into the (state) Constitution. That should be the law of Ohio," Whaley told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau last week.

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Is Ohio abortion law clear? Gov. Mike DeWine, Nan Whaley disagree