COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Senate passed several bills on its last session day of the year, including items related to abortion, concealed carry and medical marijuana

Among the items passed was a proposal to put new restrictions on medical professionals performing abortions, and also could cut off access to abortions in southwest Ohio.

As the future of abortion rights is being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court, Republicans at the Statehouse are limiting access in Ohio, as Senate Republicans concurred on changes House Republicans made to Senate Bill 157.​

The bill expands the crime of "abortion manslaughter" to a first-degree felony charge if a medical professional fails to try to keep a fetus alive after an attempted abortion.

SB 157 also says the health director has to have a doctor fill out a "child survival form" after every failed attempt at an abortion. If the form is not filled out, the doctor could face criminal charges and be sued.

Supporters of the bill said it will lead to "safer abortions,” but medical experts said it's a solution to a problem that does not exist because Ohioans cannot get an abortion after 20 weeks. They added that a fetus is not viable until 22 weeks at the earliest.

The bill could also seal the fate of clinics in Dayton and Cincinnati, because they do not have transfer agreements with local hospitals. Before the bill, the Ohio Department of Health gave the clinics special permission when it came to transfers, however, SB 157 requires ODH to revoke that permission if the doctors work at a medical school that gets state funding.

Also Wednesday, Senate Republicans passed Senate Bill 215, giving Ohioans more access to carrying a concealed handgun, saying they want law abiding gun owners, who are at least 21, to be able to carry concealed without a permit.

Also, they do not want drivers to have to tell police they have a firearm on them if they are pulled over, however, if an officer asks, the driver would have to be honest about it.

An amendment added to the bill would make it a second-degree misdemeanor if a person is caught lying to police, which is why some said they passed SB 215.

"Abiding by the second Amendment of the United States (and) the Bill of Rights shows a respect of the government for its citizenry. Infringing that right shows no respect,” said Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott. “And this second Amendment of the United States Constitution has been infringed countless times over the years, and it's time we stop that."

But not all agreed with the decision.

“I believe Senate Bill 215 will only aggravate the epidemic even more,” said Ohio Senate Assistant Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, a Democrat. “Instead of opening up concealed carry to anyone, we should be looking at commonplace common sense gun safety measures that would make Ohio safer for everyone."​

The Fraternal Order Police of Ohio also called the bill terrible.

Meanwhile, the Ohio House passed a similar bill last month.

House Bill 227 would get rid of the penalty that says drivers could be put in jail for as long as six months or be fined $1,000 if they do not tell a police officer they have a gun before the officer asks.

As SB 215 now heads to the Ohio House for consideration, Ohioans will see which bill ultimately will be sent to Gov. Mike DeWine's desk.

Ohioans already are allowed to openly carry a firearm.

The Senate also passed a bill expanding the state's medical marijuana program, including the list of people who would be qualified for treatment with the drug.

Anyone on the autism spectrum, who has arthritis, migraines, terminal illnesses and treatment of anything else a doctor decides needs treating will be able to use marijuana for medicinal reasons.

It also increases the number of licenses the state can give out for dispensaries, would allow cultivators to expand their facilities, allow for advertising amongst dispensaries on social media and create a marijuana division at the Department of Commerce while taking the oversight away from the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy.

The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.

"On many drugs, it's really up to a doctor's discretion,” Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman said. “We saw that with COVID that many doctors were prescribing different things because they knew their patients, and I knew, well, if this drug doesn't work, it's not harmful for them. So that certainly means there can be some abuse in some circumstances, but these are all going to be reported."

Sen. Steve Huffman says the main focus of this bill is to make the program more business friendly and have greater access for patients at a lower cost.​