By KIMBERLEE KRUESI

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee is the latest state to move closer to enacting one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation.

House lawmakers on Thursday passed legislation that would ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, about six weeks into pregnancy. The bill must now pass the Senate.

Similar bills are being considered in other states, including Mississippi, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio and South Carolina. Conservatives want to push an abortion case to the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge the court's 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

Republican Gov. Bill Lee has said he would sign the bill should it reach his desk.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee has warned it will sue the state if the bill becomes law. The ACLU argues that the ban is illegal.