In divided vote, 2nd city in Ohio enacts ban on abortion

MASON, Ohio (AP) — A second Ohio city has voted to criminalize abortion within its limits. The city council in Mason voted 4-3 on the ordinance Tuesday. It’s a community of about 30,000 northeast of Cincinnati. The largely symbolic move was decried by abortion rights backers as unconstitutional and cheered by abortion opponents. Mason has no abortion clinics and isn’t planning any. Neither is Lebanon, Ohio, which voted to ban abortions in May. Both cities’ ordinances came from an initiative by Right to Life East Texas. Mason’s ordinance outlaws possession of prescription drugs that induce abortions, but carries no penalties for abortion seekers.