COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a 'born alive' abortion bill that could close the last clinics in the cities of Dayton and Cincinnati, abortion opponents announced Wednesday. 

The law will require doctors to try to preserve life in the rare case that a baby is born alive following an attempted abortion. Failure to follow the new law would result in facing criminal penalties.

Senate Bill 157 also mandates that doctors report cases of babies born alive following an abortion procedure, and bans clinics that provide abortions from working with physicians who "teach or provide instruction, directly or indirectly, at a medical school or osteopathic medical school affiliated with a state university or college ... any state hospital, or other public institution."

Republican state Sen. Terry Johnson sponsored the bill and thanked DeWine following the bill signing "for standing up for Ohio's newborns and protecting life at its most vulnerable stage," adding: "Every child, no matter the circumstances surrounding his or her birth, deserves our compassion and care."

Opponents, however, argue that the law restricts abortion access by threatening health care providers. It is already homicide in the US to intentionally kill an infant that is born alive.

Kersha Deibel, CEO of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, issued a statement on the matter, which said, in part, "At this moment, we're at a crisis point for abortion access in Ohio and across the country. Anti-abortion politicians have made it their job to bury abortion providers under so many TRAP laws that providing and accessing essential health care to Ohioans has become an obstacle course."

In January, a similar "born alive" abortion law was passed in Kentucky and took effect without the governor's signature. 

Debates regarding abortion rights have been in the spotlight as the Supreme Court considers individual challenges associated with the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in the U.S.