An Ohio district judge on Friday temporarily blocked several state laws that combined to create a 24-hour waiting period. abortion in the statein the first court decision on the merits a 2023 constitutional amendment provides access to the procedure.
Republican Attorney General Dave Yost said he would file an appeal.
Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David C. Young said the language of last year’s Issue 1 was “clear and unambiguous.” It found that the attorneys and plaintiff doctors for the premature Cleveland and other abortion clinics clearly demonstrated that “the statutes at issue burden, punish, prohibit, interfere with, and discriminate against patients in exercising their abortion rights, and they help. uses this right”.
The challenged rules include a 24-hour waiting period requirement, an in-person visit requirement and a number of state mandates requiring abortion seekers to receive certain information. Young said the provisions did not improve patient health.
“This is a historic victory for abortion patients and all Ohio voters who supported a constitutional amendment to protect reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy,” said Jessie Hill, attorney for the ACLU of Ohio. “It is clear that the newly amended Ohio Constitution works as the voters intended: to protect the fundamental right to abortion and prohibit the state from infringing on it except as necessary to protect the health of the pregnant person.”
Hill said the ACLU will move forward to make the temporary injunction permanent.
Young rejected the state’s claim that there was a pre-existing legal standard The US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade It was supposed to be implemented in 2022. The Dobbs decision, which replaced Roe, returned decision-making power to the states, Young wrote.
Yost’s office said it has consistently supported 24-hour waiting periods and informed consent laws under Roe, the law of the land that has protected legal abortions for nearly 50 years.
“We have heard the voice of the people and recognize that reproductive rights are now protected in our Constitution,” Yost spokeswoman Bethany McCorkle said in a statement. “However, we respectfully disagree with the court’s decision to require doctors to obtain informed consent and wait 24 hours before performing an abortion. These are key safety features designed to ensure women receive appropriate care and make voluntary decisions.”