City Beat: Explainer: Ohio's district maps and abortion law

A statewide ban on abortion care after six weeks gestation (aka the "heartbeat bill") is already on the books and will go into effect if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Two “trigger” bills outlawing abortion care (except in vaguely outlined emergency cases) are poised to pass.   

“I think a realistic person would say there is almost no constituency in Ohio for an abortion ban, and yet that is by far the most likely policy outcome we’re looking at,” David Niven, a University of Cincinnati political science professor who researches gerrymandering and has testified as an expert witness in gerrymandering cases, tells City Beat.

Niven is an associate professor in UC’s School of Public and International Affairs and is an often-cited expert on American politics. His research focus is on political campaigns, gerrymandering, political communication and death penalty policy.

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