A Franklin County judge is expected to rule soon on whether to put a hold on Ohio’s mandatory 24-hour waiting period for an abortion.
Judge David Young of the Franklin County Common Pleas Court heard arguments Friday from abortion providers and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office. Young said he would make a decision on a request for a preliminary injunction against the law.
After Ohioans approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to abortion and other reproductive rights in 2023, lawyers filed suit to block policies that make abortion more difficult.
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Lawyers have challenged a rule that requires patients to wait at least 24 hours after their first in-person appointment before they can have an abortion. During that first appointment, doctors must give patients government-approved information that they say goes beyond informed consent and can be stigmatizing and misleading.
Before performing an abortion, the doctor must check the heart activity of the embryo or fetus and give the patient an opportunity to listen. The patient must also be given government-approved materials that explain family planning options and alternatives to abortion.
“It sends the message to patients that their treatment is morally different and that they should be ashamed of it. It leaves them stigmatized and feeling alone,” wrote Dr. Sharon Liner, medical director of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, in a court document. “Although abortion is a very common medical treatment, the challenged requirements send the opposite message — that providing medical care to a patient is something exceptional and bad.”
In rare medical emergencies, doctors are not required to perform these steps.
Prosecutors argue that the abortion clinics and doctors cannot sue on behalf of patients, so the case should be dismissed. They claim that Ohio’s laws protect patients and are not misleading.
“These are safeguards for women to ensure they receive proper care, informed consent, and their decision is voluntary,” said Amanda Narog, an attorney for Yost’s office.
Jessie Hill, an attorney for the ACLU of Ohio, said the new law violates the constitutional rights of patients who have to wait 24 hours for an abortion.
“Of course, the existing laws can now be challenged and should be reconsidered with the amendment. That was the whole purpose of the amendment,” Hill said.
Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which covers the Columbus Dispatch, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio..
