Abortion Clinics Sue to Halt Ohio Law, Saying They Don't Have The Rules To Comply

Abortion providers are suing the state of Ohio to stop a new law that requires the burial or cremation of aborted fetal remains. 

The ACLU of Ohio’s Legal Director, Freda Levenson, said the new law is supposed to go into effect April 6, but abortion clinics don’t have the rules and paperwork they need from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) yet.

“Everything is really dependent on ODH issuing this guidance that they, so far, refuse to issue," Levenson said.

The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to put the law on hold.

Planned Parenthood, Preterm-Cleveland, Women’s Med Group and Northeast Ohio Womens’ Center and their lawyers at ACLU of Ohio filed suit against ODH and others in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, asking the court to block the law as an unconstitutional hurdle to women’s legal right to abortion. Without a court order or new rules from the state, the lawsuit says clincs will have to start turning women away when the law goes into effect in April.

Allie Frazier with Ohio Right to Life sees the lawsuit as obstacle to achieving the law’s goal. 

“The goal is to reinforce that basic human dignity and hold the abortion industry accountable," Frazier said.

The law says the state is not charged with issuing rules until July 5, but abortion providers say they cannot comply with rules that have not been issued. 

The measure replaces an earlier Ohio law that required aborted fetuses to be disposed of “in a humane manner,” but without defining "humane" or an appropriate system for doing so. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bill into law in December.

ideastream Digital Editor Gayle S. Putrich contributed to this report.

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