Another Hamilton County Heartbeat Law Filing

Ohio’s Heartbeat Law continues to hang in the balance of the courts. On Friday, Ohio’s Attorney General, Dave Yost asked Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins to dismiss the case. The 16-page filing didn’t include specifics of what parts of the six-week ban could still be constitutional and permit the dismissal.

The Heartbeat Law has had quite a journey and it seems to be remaining on life support. Signed into law in April of 2019 by Governor DeWine, it was quickly found unconstitutional in July of 2019 by Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett when he wrote: The law, as its sponsors intended, will have the effect of preventing nearly all abortions in Ohio. 

In June of 2022 when Roe v Wade was overturned because of the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, Ohio’s Heartbeat Law went into effect after Attorney General Yost filed the proper motions with the court. The violent vacuum suction machines across Ohio were silenced while the decapitating and dismemberment of precious preborn babies in Ohio ended. The Hamilton County Judge Jenkins paused the Heartbeat Law in September of 2022, permitting for the machines to churn again. The decision has bounced from the Ohio Supreme Court to back to Hamilton County during filings and decisions.

We know Heartbeat Laws save lives and disrupt the for-profit abortion industry’s bottom line. When the 2022 Ohio abortion numbers were released, the horrific procedure had declined 15% from 21,813 in 2021 to 18,488 in 2022. This amounts to a huge financial loss for abortionists, one of at least two million dollars. And we wonder why they fight with everything they have to keep the Heartbeat Law from saving lives in Ohio.