COLUMBUS — A doctor who performs an abortion after learning that a diagnosis of Down Syndrome factors into the pregnant woman’s decision could face prison and the loss of his medical license under a bill headed to the full Ohio House.

The House Health Committee on Wednesday voted along party lines to approve House Bill 214.

Republicans presented it as an anti-discrimination measure to prevent the termination of pregnancy because of such a diagnosis while Democrats called it an unconstitutional infringement on a woman’s right to an abortion.

“When we hear the statistic that 90 percent of women [who receive unwelcome test results] chose abortion because of this potential diagnosis, there’s an obvious problem there,” said Rep. Sarah LaTourette (R., Chesterland), who sponsored the measure with Rep. Derek Merrin (R., Monclova Township).

“I continue to say that this bill is about so much more than abortion,” she said. “I truly believe that it’s about discriminating against some of our most vulnerable, discriminating against an unborn child simply because they might have a Down Syndrome diagnosis. That’s something that I find absolutely unacceptable.”

The proposed Down Syndrome Non-Discrimination Act, which could see a full House vote as early as next week, would prohibit an abortion if the patient seeking it, at least in part, does so because she knows or has reason to believe the fetus has Down Syndrome.

Unlike other abortion bills passed in the General Assembly in recent years, House Bill 214 is less about the procedure itself and more about the pregnant woman’s motivation in seeking it. A similar measure is pending in the Senate.

“I will always at the end of the day stand and say we, legislators in this room and in this General Assembly, have no right to insert ourselves into the private decisions of a family,” Rep. Nickie Antonio (D., Lakewood) said.

She argued that lawmakers would be better off putting money into educating people that raising a child with Down Syndrome diagnosis today pales in comparison to problems associated with that decades ago.

Ms. Antonio tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to require the state to cover the medical bills of any woman forced to deliver and raise a Down Syndrome child against her will as well the medical bills of that child for the rest of its life. Under the bill, doctors who perform the procedure with that knowledge would be held legally liable, not the patient.

A violation would be a fourth-degree felony, punishable by as much as 18 months in prison, and doctors could also be held civilly liable for damages. The State Medical Board would be obligated to revoke the doctor’s license.

After performing an abortion, the doctor must include in his already mandatory report a statement that he had no knowledge of such a motivation in that case.

The committee’s two northwest Ohio members, Mr. Merrin and Rep. Theresa Gavarone (R., Bowling Green), voted for the measure.

North Dakota and Indiana have passed similar laws, and a number of other states are considering such action.

A federal court recently struck down Indiana’s law, which also prohibited an abortion because of the sex of the fetus and mandated specific disposal of fetal remains. Indiana is appealing that ruling.

The measure would be the latest anti-abortion rights bill enacted in Ohio in recent years. Last year the state prohibited most abortions after 20 weeks of gestation, and the state has imposed additional restrictions on the operations of abortion clinics.

Contact Jim Provance at jprovance@theblade.com or 614-221-0496.

First Published October 25, 2017, 2:40 p.m.