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Judge expected to rule soon on challenge to Ohio’s 24-hour waiting period to get abortion
By: Jessie Balmert and Laura A. Bischoff, originally appeared in Cincinnati Enquirer, published August 16, 2024, The Columbus Dispatch
A Franklin County judge is expected to rule soon on whether to put a hold on enforcing Ohio’s mandatory 24-hour waiting period to get an abortion.
Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge David Young heard arguments Friday from abortion providers and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office. Young said he’ll render 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, attorneys sued to block policies that make it harder to get an abortion.
Lawyers challenged a rule that requires patients to wait at least 24 hours after their first in-person appointment to have an abortion. During this initial appointment, doctors must give patients state-approved information that they say goes beyond informed consent and can be stigmatizing and misleading.
Before an abortion, a provider must check for embryonic or fetal cardiac activity and offer the patient an opportunity to listen. The patient also must receive state-approved materials detailing family planning options and alternatives to abortion.
“It communicates to patients that there is something morally different about their treatment and that they should have a sense of shame about it, thereby stigmatizing them and making them feel alone,” wrote Dr. Sharon Liner, medical director for Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region in a court filing. “While abortion is a very common medical treatment, the challenged requirements send the opposite message − that there is something exceptional and bad about a patient’s medical care.”
Doctors aren’t required to follow these steps in medical emergencies, which are rare.
State attorneys argue that the abortion clinics and doctors cannot sue on behalf of patients so the case should be thrown out. They contend that Ohio’s laws protect patients and aren’t misleading.
“These are safety features for women to make sure that they’re getting proper care, informed consent and their decision is voluntary,” said Amanda Narog, attorney for Yost’s office.
ACLU of Ohio attorney Jessie Hill said patients forced to wait 24 hours to access abortions are now having their constitutional rights violated under the new amendment.
“Of course, the laws that have been on the books can be challenged now 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 serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
Laura Bischoff is an award-winning journalist and reporter who has covered Ohio politics and state government for two decades.