US politician trying to ban abortion says he has never thought about why women have them

Buchy sparked controversy when he admitted 'I've never even thought about it'

A man who has passed legislation to effectively ban abortion once admitted he had “never thought about” why women have terminations.

Jim Buchy, a Republican politician in Ohio, was among legislators in the state who has passed a bill to ban abortion after the foetus has a heartbeat.

As this occurs at around six weeks into pregnancy, it is thought this would effectively ban abortion by outlawing it before women become aware of their pregnancy and arrange a termination.

Mr Buchy, a staunchly anti-abortion politician, once caused controversy when he admitted he had never thought about why women have abortions. In 2012, during an interview with Al Jazeera, he was asked about his attempts then to limit abortions to the time before a foetus has a heartbeat.

A reporter asked: “What do you think makes a woman want to have an abortion?” In response, Mr Buchy appears startled and is lost for words. After a pause he says: “Well, there’s probably a lot of reas- … I’m not a woman. I’m thinking now if I’m a woman why would I want to get… Some of it has to do with economics.

“A lot of it has to do with economics. I don’t know. It’s a question I’ve never even thought about.”

The Ohio bill follows other attempts to restrict abortion access by Republican politicians across the US. It is thought that such attempts may increase under the Donald Trump administration as GOP legislators feel emboldened by his presidency.

In Texas, state health officials have proposed that women who have abortions will be required to have funerals for the foetus.