That case centered on the constitutionality of Ohio Senate Bill 23, passed in 2019, which enacted a ban on abortions once cardiac activity could be detected in a fetus, which usually occurs around six weeks of pregnancy.
The ban had been start-stop in Ohio since its passage. It was temporarily paused before Thursday’s ruling, but was in effect for nearly three months in 2022 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of the longstanding abortion protections under Roe v. Wade.
The heartbeat law nearly closed Women’s Med Group Professional Corporation’s location in Kettering before the initial preliminary injunction was issued.
Thursday’s ruling is substantial for abortion-rights advocates who have been waiting for Ohio’s amendment to kick in to gear.
“This momentous win is due to the hard work of countless Ohioans who stood up and continue to stand up to protect abortion access in our state. Their hard work paid off today,” said Kellie Copeland, the executive director of Abortion Forward, the Ohio group that progressed 2023′s amendment.
The case has been argued by the ACLU of Ohio on behalf of a variety of abortion providers in the state, including Preterm-Cleveland, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, and Women’s Med Group Professional Corporation.
“The permanent blocking of the six-week ban brings us one step closer to getting our patients the access they deserve,” said Dr. Sharon Liner, medical director of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region.
Anti-abortion advocates expected this ruling, but it is not deterring them from their goals, one local advocate said.
“This ruling is not surprising and doesn’t change our focus on protecting women and saving babies’ lives,” said Margie Christie, executive director Dayton Right to Life. “Now more than ever, women need protections from a profit driven industry that only wants to take advantage of their moment of crisis.”
Other anti-abortion advocates are turning to battlegrounds in other states. Ten states have measures on the ballot that would protect abortion access, according to KFF, a nonprofit focused on health policy and research.
“Right now, as we speak, I’m in Florida,” said Mark Harrington, president of Created Equal, a national anti-abortion organization based out of Columbus.
Florida has a citizen-initiated measure on the ballot that would protect access to abortion up to the point of viability, according to KFF.
In Ohio and other states with constitutional amendments protecting access to abortion, anti-abortion advocates are returning to what they were doing prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“We’re getting back to what we were doing prior to Issue 1, which is changing hearts and minds,” Harrington said.
This is not the only state restriction that those in favor of abortion access are seeking to have enjoined.
“All of the 31 abortion bans and restrictions are still in place until they go through either a legal or legislative process,” Lauren Blauvelt, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, said earlier this month.
In August, a court in Franklin County temporarily blocked Ohio’s law requiring patients to wait 24 hours in order to obtain an abortion. For clinics that conduct abortions, they saw this law has an unnecessary hindrance with no medical benefit. For anti-abortion activists, this was mandated time to reflect on an irreversible medical decision.
Also around that time, a Hamilton County judge granted a temporary injunction on Ohio’s FDA label restriction on abortion medication, meaning doctors can prescribe the drug mifepristone off-label, a common practice among physicians for other medications.
Anti-abortion advocates expected these outcomes, Harrington said.
“One of our talking points when Issue 1 was being debated is that we realized if it were passed that all of the laws, at least the majority of them, would be wiped out, and so that’s why I say we’re disappointed but not surprised because we predicted this,” Harrington said.
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Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
