Ohio wants to ban abortion from the moment an egg is fertilized — here's how likely the bill is to pass, and how it fits into the bigger picture

• Ohio lawmakers introduced HB 480, a bill that aims to ban all abortions and incentivizes citizens to sue those who seek or perform abortions.
• The bill mimics Texas' Heartbeat Bill, which bans abortions after six weeks. But this is stricter, applying to all fertilized eggs.

Texas' recent ban on abortion after six weeks made national headlines. It has no exceptions for rape or incest, and, uniquely, it relies on private citizens to enforce the law.

Ohio lawmakers have since proposed a ban that mimics the Texas one, but with stricter guidelines that would ban all abortions regardless of pregnancy timeline, rape, incest, or a mother's medical emergency. Like Texas' six-week ban, the Ohio ban would incentivize residents to sue anyone involved in helping another person get an abortion. If a plaintiff wins in court, the state would award them $10,000, according to the Ohio bill, called House Bill 480.

Whether the Ohio ban becomes reality all depends on the fate of an upcoming case being heard today by the Supreme Court. The case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, concerns a 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi. At its core, it challenges the precedent set forth in 1973's Roe v. Wade case: the universal right to seek abortion in the US with limited government intervention.

Experts worry the court's now-conservative majority could change the reproductive rights as we know them, once they come to a final decision in summer 2022. In a state like Ohio, overturning Roe would have immediate implications.

Ohio isn't the only state waiting for SCOTUS to overturn Roe v. Wade

As it stands, Ohio's abortion ban bill, introduced November 2, is unconstitutional. Currently, abortions are legal until 21 weeks of pregnancy in the state.

According to Carol Sanger, reproductive rights lawyer and professor at Columbia Law School, HB480 is unlikely to pass because SCOTUS has not yet offered its opinion on the Texas bill it mimics.

Sanger told Insider she believes SCOTUS will strike down Texas' attempts to use civil lawsuits to incentivize citzens to stop abortions.

If, however, Roe v. Wade is overturned next year and HB 480 passes, the state will be able to enact it as law, effectively banning all abortions and allowing civil lawsuits against those who don't comply.

Ohio lawmakers also introduced Senate Bill 123 on March 9. If passed, the bill will become a "trigger" ban, meaning it will automatically take effect to immediately ban all abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned. HB480 and SB123 are not yet law.

It's a move 12 other states, including Utah, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana, have already made, some as early as 2005.

Some states' trigger ban laws offer exceptions for rape, incest, or the pregnant person's medical emergency, while others have no exceptions.

If the trigger bans go into effect, financial penalties and prison time could become a reality for abortion seekers and providers, Insider previously reported.