The 24-hour waiting period for an abortion in Ohio has been eliminated, at least for now, and patients in Cincinnati are feeling the impact more than most.
This is because half of the patients travel from another state to have an abortion.
Cincinnati’s only abortion provider, Planned Parenthood Surgical Center at Mount Auburn, has emerged as the best option for hundreds of people who seek abortions but live in states where the procedure is banned or severely restricted.
For those patients, Planned Parenthood officials say, a judge’s decision last week to block Ohio’s enforcement of the waiting period has removed a major financial and logistical burden. It means one less day they have to pay for food and housing and one less day they have to spend away from work and family.
“We’re thrilled to see this,” said Maya McKenzie, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, which operates the Cincinnati clinic. “This opens a huge door for patients, especially those who come from out of state.”
McKenzie said half of the roughly 400 patients who seek abortions each month at the Cincinnati clinic are from out of state. Most of those patients come from Indiana and Kentucky, neighboring states where abortion services are unavailable either because of bans or ongoing litigation over bans.
The next most common home states for Cincinnati Clinic patients are Tennessee, Georgia, West Virginia and Florida. These states either ban all abortions or prohibit the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy.
McKenzie said Florida’s six-week travel ban, which went into effect in May, is likely responsible for a 10% increase in patient numbers in Cincinnati since this spring.
Abortion bans drive patients to Cincinnati
A look at the map of states where abortion is banned or severely restricted reveals it: Virginia is the only state south of Ohio without any significant restrictions. And for many, Interstate 75, which runs from Florida through the Deep South to the heart of Cincinnati, is the easiest route.
“We are the southernmost clinic on I-75,” said Nan Whaley, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio.
The patchwork of abortion laws in each state emerged in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion for half a century. The court’s conservative majority struck down that right and said states could set their own rules.
Ohio initially joined other Republican-led states in enacting similar restrictions, but the rules changed last year when Ohio voters added abortion rights to the state constitution.
The judge who blocked enforcement of Ohio’s 24-hour waiting period last week cited the new law change in his ruling.
“A person’s right to reproductive freedom is now enshrined in the Ohio Constitution,” wrote Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David Young.
Whaley said the constitutional amendment and subsequent rulings rolling back restrictions have increased pressure on Planned Parenthood to improve and expand its services because Ohio has become a destination for patients who cannot get abortions elsewhere.
“We have a responsibility, not just to the patients in Ohio,” she said.
Dispute over waiting times and abortion restrictions continues
Young’s ruling last week had immediate implications. McKenzie said the Cincinnati clinic performed three abortions on Monday without complying with the 24-hour waiting period.
The fight isn’t over, though. Last week’s decision will remain in effect only until there is a final ruling on the legality of the waiting period, which state officials and abortion rights activists continue to debate in Ohio’s courts.
Opponents of the waiting period call it an unconstitutional burden, but Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has said he wants to keep it because he believes a 24-hour waiting period does not conflict with Ohio’s new constitutional amendment.
“These are essential safeguards to ensure women receive the right care and can make voluntary decisions,” Yost’s office said in a press release last week.
But Whaley and others argue that delaying the procedure is unnecessary and compromises patients’ ability to make decisions about their own care. They say it is particularly distressing for women who have to travel long distances to receive this treatment.
Since the end of Roe v. Wade, states where abortion remains legal have reported an increase in patient numbers similar to that seen in Cincinnati.
To handle the volume, Planned Parenthood has hired additional staff and created a team to help out-of-state patients travel to Cincinnati. And while there are no plans, Whaley says opening another clinic is a possibility once the legal battles are over.
“We need to expand. We need to offer more services,” Whaley said. “Now that we have the protection of the Constitution, I think we will provide more care.”
