COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) 鈥 Two more Ohio laws restricting abortions have been blocked by the courts as the legal impacts of a 2023 constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to the procedure continue to be felt.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Alison Hatheway issued a preliminary injunction Aug. 29 that extends an existing order temporarily halting enforcement of a law banning use of telemedicine in medication abortions.
It also blocks another law prohibiting non-doctors 鈥 including midwives, advanced practice nurses and physician assistants 鈥 from prescribing the abortion pill mifepristone used in the procedure.
Hatheway's decision followed a Columbus judge's that combined to create a 24-hour waiting period for abortion seekers. Any appeals by the state could eventually arrive at the Ohio Supreme Court, where three seats 鈥 and 鈥 are in play this fall and abortion is .
In her order, Hatheway said it is clear 鈥渢he status quo shifted drastically" when the amendment known as Issue 1 went into effect in December 鈥 likely rendering many existing Ohio abortion restrictions unconstitutional.
She said the state's argument that the laws are vital to 鈥渢he health and safety of all Ohioans鈥 failed to meet the new legal mark while lawyers for Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region and the other clinics and physicians who brought the suit against the Ohio Department of Health are likeliest to prevail.
鈥淭he Amendment grants sweeping protections ensuring reproductive autonomy for patients in Ohio,鈥 she wrote. 鈥淧laintiffs have provided substantial evidence to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the Bans at issue here violate these newly enshrined rights in a manner that is not the least restrictive, and actually causes harm to Plaintiffs' patients.鈥
Peter Range, senior fellow for strategic initiatives at Ohio's Center for Christian Virtue, said it is now clear that the ACLU of Ohio, Planned Parenthood and others fighting Ohio's abortion restrictions 鈥渁re after every common-sense law which protects mothers and babies in our state.鈥
鈥淭his most recent ruling is just another example of how they want abortion on demand, without any restrictions whatsoever,鈥 he said in a statement, calling for a "return to common sense laws which protect women and protect the preborn in Ohio.鈥
Ohio's law targeting telemedicine abortions 鈥 conducted at home while a person meets remotely with their medical provider 鈥 had already been since 2021. But the lawsuit was more recently amended to incorporate passage of Issue 1 and, at that time, objections to the mifepristone restriction was incorporated.
The reproductive rights amendment passed with almost 57% of the Ohio vote. It guarantees each Ohioan's right 鈥渢o make and carry out one's own reproductive decisions.鈥
