An anti-abortion group has announced that Rick Perry supports Ohio’s controversial “heartbeat bill,” one of the most radical and restrictive abortion measures in the country. The bill — designed to establish a direct challenge to the 22 to 24 week viability standards in Roe v. Wade — outlaws abortions if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as “six to seven weeks into pregnancy” and offers no exception for cases of rape, incest, or mental health of the mother:
“We’re grateful to Governor Perry for his strong support of the Heartbeat Bill. I don’t think there’s a bill in America with more support,” declares Faith2Action President Janet (Folger) Porter. She adds, “Come to the Statehouse Atrium on September 20 and get a glimpse of the statewide support for the Heartbeat Bill!”
At a meeting in Texas, Governor Perry announced his support before a group of 250 pro-life and pro-family leaders. His response of support to a question about the Heartbeat Bill received an extended standing ovation.
The radical bill is being pushed by the equally radical Faith2Nation’s Jane Porter, a believer in “dominion” theology — “the idea that Christians are called to take complete control over every aspect of human life in order to bring about the return of Christ” — and the former co-chair of Mike Huckabee’s Faith and Family Values Coalition when he first ran for president. The Ohio House passed the heartbeat measure in June, during a bizarre session when Republican lawmakers compared opponents of the law to slave owners and argued that abortions make people more likely to smoke pot. The state Senate is expected to take-up the measure this month.
Last week, a federal judge blocked a Texas law signed by Perry that requires women seeking abortions to undergo sonograms and listen to the fetal heartbeat at least 24 hours before the procedure.