'This is a tiny amount of time': Will Ohio ban abortion at conception this year?

With little time left to pass legislation, Republican leadership in the Ohio Senate might not ban abortions from the moment of conception by the end of this year.

"This is a tiny amount of time. We have five session days scheduled," Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. "There may be people who say this is too pro-life or people who say this is not pro-life enough."

What will happen, in his opinion, is expanded care for pregnant women and defining life of the mother exemptions in the state's current "heartbeat" law. But whether overall restrictions get "extended all the way out to whatever we would define as conception, that remains to be seen at the moment," he said.

Huffman's comments represent a shift from the expectation that GOP lawmakers would ban nearly all abortions when they reconvened after the November elections.

Twenty-one Republican legislators recently promised to ban abortion from the point of conception at an Oct. 5 anti-abortion rally at the Ohio Statehouse. And abortion opponents previously expressed optimism that 2022 was their year: "We are going to accomplish our goal and our mission to end abortion in 2022," Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis said in June, just days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

But crafting language that clears legal hurdles and addresses doctors' concerns about vague exceptions while appeasing staunchly anti-abortion legislators is proving complicated in states across the nation. Ohio's six-week abortion ban is currently blocked by a court order.

Huffman, a lifelong Catholic whose mother helped start Ohio's crisis pregnancy centers, wants to reach a consensus with his fellow GOP lawmakers. He's just not sure that will happen before 2023 given the time left after November's election and the uncertainty over who is going to lead Republicans in the House after current Speaker Bob Cupp leaves at the end of the year.

"This is sort of tradition in politics for the Senate to blame the House, but I don’t know if that uncertainty adds to the challenge of getting things done...," Huffman said. "I think we can get a bill passed in the Senate, and I think the governor will sign it. I am uncertain about the House."

What is the Republican and Gov. Mike DeWine response to Roe?

It's also not clear what lines, if any, Gov. Mike DeWine will draw before signing another abortion ban. The Republican governor previously said Ohio lawmakers wouldn't restrict access to contraception − some of which works after conception but before implantation.

“No one in their right mind is going to go try to have the state be involved in contraception,” DeWine told reporters in July.

DeWine has pitched other ideas, such as eliminating the sales tax on baby items and extending maternity leave for state employees, in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Huffman said he wants to pass legislation that helps foster parents, makes adoption more affordable and expands programs for teenage mothers. He also wants to clarify what "life of the mother" means in medically useful terms for doctors. A Hamilton County judge recently blocked Ohio's six-week abortion ban, in part, because the exceptions were too vague for doctors. The state is appealing his ruling.

"Those are things that need to go forward, I think," he said.

Kellie Copeland, executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio, said abortion rights advocates warned lawmakers that their restrictions would have consequences.

"If they’re saying that after nine years of deliberation, they are going to somehow craft clearer exceptions that will in any way prevent people from being harmed by their policies, they are either lying or revealing how truly incompetent they are when it comes to understanding the complexities of pregnancies," Copeland said.

"The only way to protect Ohioans facing pregnancy complications, or the myriad of other nuanced and important reasons we may need access to abortion, is to not ban abortion in the first place."

More:Gov. Mike DeWine pitches eliminating Ohio sales tax on baby items amid abortion debate

What the anti-abortion movement in Ohio wants

"There's a lot of desire to do something on life at conception," Center for Christian Virtue President Aaron Baer said.  "We're not an easily discouraged crowd."

And Gonidakis says Ohio Right to Life is pushing for that in the final weeks of the legislative session, which are often called "lame duck."

"Based upon my conversations with Huffman and Cupp I am convinced that abortion will be addressed during lame duck," said Gonidakis, adding that he backs a comprehensive approach including DeWine's proposals, improvements to adoption and more resources for children. "Ohio Right to Life will utilize all of its resources to ensure these topics are addressed."

But Baer acknowledged that making big changes to Ohio law takes time. For example, it took conservatives nine years to pass Ohio's current "heartbeat bill."

During that time, abortion opponents passed a mandatory waiting period, required face-to-face consultations and limited abortion clinics' access to both insurance and public dollars.

"If we're not able to get everything we want to get done in lame duck, we will be right back on Jan. 1 pushing," Baer said.

How Roe v Wade was overturned:For decades groups in Ohio worked to overturn Roe v Wade. Here's what they did

One of the sticking points around a law that says life begins at conception is the way it might impact fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization and certain birth control methods. But Baer has "serious concerns" about how fertility clinics handle embryos that don't get implanted into their patients.

"They are an industry that has promoted themselves as creating families," Baer said. "But they now are having to acknowledge that abortion is a part of IVF."

What happens if life at conception doesn't pass?

Republicans are expected to retain control of the Ohio House and Senate following the 2022 elections, and DeWine is headed toward reelection over Democratic challenger Nan Whaley, according to most public polls.

"The state legislature has a super pro-life majority in both chambers, and I guarantee after Election Day 2022 those numbers will either increase or remain the same," Gonidakis said. "Ohio pro-life voters will have done their job this election season and this will send a strong message to our friends in the legislature to do theirs."

But that Republican majority eliminates some urgency.

"If we don’t get it done now," Huffman said. "We will all be back here anyway."

Anna Staver and Jessie Balmert are reporters for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Will Ohio Republicans ban abortion at conception in 2022?