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A court rules Ohio’s six-week abortion ban is unconstitutional

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Ohio’s ban on nearly all abortion cannot be enforced, at the order of a Hamilton County judge.

A gavel sits upright on a table
[Billion Photos | shutterstock.com]
Judge Christian Jenkins ruled Ohio’s ban on abortion after fetal cardiac electronic activity can be detected, also known as the “heartbeat law”, is unconstitutional under an amendment approved by voters last fall. Issue 1 guaranteed reproductive rights including abortion, fertility treatments and miscarriage care.

Jenkins wrote: “Ohio voters have spoken. The Ohio Constitution now unequivocally protects the right to abortion.”

The law, which passed in 2019, has been on hold since September 2022, after going into effect following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning the right to abortion earlier that year.

Opponents of the law have said it’s clearly unconstitutional under the new amendment. Attorney General Dave Yost has defended the law, though he said during last year’s campaign that if Issue 1 passed the ban would no longer exist – a statement backed up by a legal analysis from his office.

“This is 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,” said Jessie Hill of the ACLU, which argued against the ban.

Aaron Baer from the Center of Christian Virtue, an influential group that pushed against the abortion access amendment last fall, said in a statement: “Ohio voters are just beginning to see the extreme nature of this abortion amendment. As children in Ohio start to get aborted after 20 weeks of a pregnancy, and basic health and safety regulations on abortion clinics get challenged in court, Ohio voters will see why we need to change course.”

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.