A Hamilton County Common Pleas Court judge was scheduled to put out a decision today on whether the state's six-week abortion ban law could move forward. But that’s been delayed until Aug. 29.
A lawsuit was filed with that court against the six-week ban in September 2022, three months after the law had been put into effect following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling knocking down federal abortion protections in Roe v. Wade. Doctors testified in court that they were seeing horrific problems because of the six-week ban, also called the “heartbeat” law. Shortly after that, the court granted an injunction, putting the six-week ban on hold. And the law, which makes abortion illegal at the point fetal cardiac activity can be detected, has not been enforced since that time.
Last November, voters approved a reproductive rights amendment which the ACLU of Ohio and others maintain would make the six-week ban unconstitutional. But attorneys for Republican Attorney General Dave Yost have argued parts of the law should remain in force. Ohio legislators have not removed any abortion limits in state law, saying parts of them do not violate the new amendment. Ohio's Republican legislative leaders who dominate the General Assembly have said courts should decide the fate of existing state abortion laws.
This decision will likely make November's election even more important in the eyes of many voters. Three seats on the Ohio Supreme Court are on the ballot. The court is four Republicans and three Democrats, so this fall’s vote could potentially shift the balance of the court.
For more information on the history of this court case, click here.
This story was updated with a link to the history of this court case on Thursday, October 17, 2024.
