Pennsylvania Is One Step Closer to 20-Week Abortion Ban

The Pennsylvania state Senate has approved a bill to ban abortions at 20 weeks.

The legislation would also restrict how most second-trimester abortions are done. The Pennsylvania House will now vote on the measure.

That ban applies to elective abortions, a procedure performed for reasons other than health or fetal disease.  The law does not, however, allow exemptions for rape or incest. 

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has called the latest measure "radical and unconstitutional" and is vowing to veto the bill. If vetoed, the 20-week ban faces a tough road to becoming law. The Pennsylvania Senate is two votes short of overriding the veto. 

Twenty-week abortion bans are becoming more prevalent. Sixteen other states have similar laws on the books. 

Ohio Gov. John Kasich was the latest to sign such a bill into law. 

However, Kasich vetoed the so-called "heartbeat bill," which would have become the nation's strictest abortion law. That law would have banned abortions as soon as a heartbeat was detected. 

Kasich said that legislation would have faced a costly court battle and likely been overturned like a similar attempt in Arkansas.