An Ohio representative and Baptist pastor is proposing a state-wide ban on abortions from the moment of conception

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An Ohio lawmaker and Baptist pastor has proposed a state-wide ban on abortions that would start at the moment of conception.

Republican Rep. Gary Click and seven co-sponsors introduced a bill on Monday dubbed “The Personhood Act,” according to a draft of the legislation reviewed by Insider.  

“The state of Ohio shall recognize the personhood, and protect the constitutional rights, of all unborn human individuals from the moment of conception. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted in any manner that would endanger the life of a mother,” the text of the legislation read. 

After the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling — which protected the constitutional right to an abortion — an Ohio law took effect that banned abortions after six weeks into a pregnancy, or when a heartbeat is detected. 

Click told Ohio’s Statehouse News Bureau on Monday that at conception, a “person is a unique individual with their own DNA, and I believe they are deserving of all the rights of personhood.”

“I would love to see us go to that place where we protect that person we respect and that we value life from the moment of conception,” he told the outlet. “So I would love to see there be no abortions with the exceptions of a time when there is a medical emergency — I would certainly want to save the life of the mother.”

Click told the outlet that the bill does not make exceptions for rape or incest. He did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. 

On Tuesday, an Ohio man was arrested after confessing to raping a 10-year-old girl on at least two occasions, according to Columbus police. The girl became pregnant and was ultimately forced to travel out of state for an abortion, an Indiana doctor who helped the girl told the Indianapolis Star.

The case led to widespread attention from media and politicians — including the White House. 

Insider reached out to members of Ohio’s state majority leadership to see if they would back the proposed “Personhood Act,” but the members did not immediately respond.

The state’s Republican Party also did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.