AP — President Donald Trump's call for a ban on late-term abortions is unlikely to prevail in Congress, but Republican legislators in several states are pushing ahead with anti-abortion bills they hope can pass muster with the Supreme Court.
Efforts to outlaw abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, are underway in Mississippi, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee.
An Iowa heartbeat bill has been struck down by a state judge.
Trump, in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, cited recent controversies in New York and Virginia over late-term abortions and urged Congress to ban abortions of children "who can feel pain in the mother's womb." The proposal ban has virtually no chance of success with Democrats controlling the House.
