Ohio Judge Strikes Down State’s 6-Week Abortion Ban as Unconstitutional

An Ohio county judge struck down the state’s six-week abortion ban on Thursday, ruling that the so-called heartbeat law was unconstitutional.
“Despite the adoption of a broad and strongly worded constitutional amendment, in this case and others, the State of Ohio seeks not to uphold the constituional protection of abortion rights, but to diminish and limit it,” Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Christian Jenkins wrote in his ruling.
He was referring to Issue 1, an amendment to the state constitution that Ohio voters passed last year. The amendment gives every person in Ohio “the right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions.”
Jenkins’ ruling was part of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio on behalf of a group of Ohio abortion providers. It is the second round of litigation challenging the abortion ban.
An initial lawsuit was brought in federal court in 2019, where the ban was first blocked under Roe v. Wade. After the 1973 landmark decision was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022, Ohio’s ban was briefly allowed to go into effect.
Enforcement of the ban was then again paused by the state court system with opponents arguing it violated protections in Ohio’s constitution guaranteeing individual liberty and equal protection. Challengers of the ban also claimed it was unconstitutionally vague.
Jenkins said that when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and left abortion up to the states to decide, “Ohio’s Attorney General evidently didn’t get the memo.”
Republican Attorney General Dave Yost acknowledged in court documents this spring that Issue 1 made Ohio’s abortion ban unconstitutional but tried to maintain other elements of the law, including certain notification and reporting aspects.
Jenkins said Yost’s request to leave all but one provision of the law untouched even after the passage of an amendment protecting the right to abortion before the fetus is viable “dispels the myth” that the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling simply gives states power over the issue.
Jessie Hill, cooperating attorney for the ACLU of Ohio, called Jenkins’ decision “a momentous ruling, showing the power of Ohio’s new Reproductive Freedom Amendment in practice.”
“The six-week ban is blatantly unconstitutional and has no place in our law,” she added.
The 2019 law bans most abortions once fetal cardiac activity is detected, hence the heartbeat nickname. Cardiac activity can be detected as early as six weeks into pregnancy, which is before many women even know they’re pregnant, according to Planned Parenthood.
Over two dozen states currently have some sort of abortion ban, according to a map of the U.S. by CNN that was last updated on October 7.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.