Republicans in the US state of Ohio have introduced a bill that requires doctors to "reimplant an ectopic pregnancy" into a woman's uterus or face a change of "abortion murder".
The bill has prompted backlash, in part because doctors say no such medical procedure exists.
Critics claim the bill is one of the most anti-abortion pieces of legislation introduced in a US state.
It also legally recognises a fetus as an "unborn child" and outlaws abortion in nearly all circumstances.
A number of doctors in the state have slammed the bill, which is being sponsored by two Republicans.
Obstetrician and gynecologist Dr David Hackney took aim at the ectopic pregnancy requirement.
"That's impossible. We'll all be going to jail," he said.
An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilised egg implants itself outside of the womb, most commonly in one of the fallopian tubes.
It can be life-threatening, if the embryonic tissue grows unchecked.
One US women called the bill "outrageous".
"I had 3 ectopic pregnancies and believe me if it could've had a different outcome we would have been all in. The losses were devastating for me personally," she tweeted.
While the Democratic Coalition said it was "one of the most extreme" anti-abortion bills to date and part of the Republican Party's "war on women".
Earlier this year, Ohio passed a bill banning abortions as early as six weeks, a time when many women may not know they are pregnant. But it was eventually blocked by a federal judge.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research and policy organisation, there has been a "continued onslaught of state abortion restrictions" in the US this year.
Abortion has been legal in all US states since the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision by the Supreme Court, the highest court in the country.
Abortion rights activists in Ohio earlier this year. Source: Getty
But many Republican-dominated legislatures are pushing anti-abortion bills at state level, which may end up forcing another national showdown in the Supreme Court.
Since President Donald Trump came to power, he has appointed two conservative justices to the Supreme Court, tipping it in the conservative's favour.
Pro-abortion group Ohio Right to Life has welcomed recent moves taken by Republican politicians in Ohio.
An anti-abortion protest in Los Angeles. Source: Getty
In a statement earlier this year, the organisation's president Mike Gonidakis called these moves "life-affirming".
"Ohio Right to Life has sought to enact incremental, life-saving laws in Ohio, that will either go into effect in Ohio or serve as a vehicle to overturn Roe v Wade," he said.
"Roe is an outdated, terribly decided precedent and its time that the Supreme Court take a second look at it."
