State Lawmakers Considering Banning Certain Abortion Procedure

Legislation banning what anti-abortion activists call a "dismemberment abortion" has been introduced in the Ohio Senate. The bill prohibits doctors from using forceps or similar instruments on a live fetus to remove it from the womb in pieces. The medical term is dilation and evacuation. Seven states already have such bans. The New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights says that's the safest and most common way of terminating a second-trimester pregnancy. 3 thousand D&E procedures were performed in Ohio in 2015. NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio says it's part of a national strategy to restrict access to safe, legal abortions.