Ohio Judge Halts Two Laws Restricting Abortions

An Ohio judge recently blocked two laws that would have made it harder for people to get an abortion in the state.

Last Thursday, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Alison Hatheway issued a preliminary injunction that extends an existing order that halts the enforcement of a ban on telemedicine in medication abortions—which is conducted at home under the supervision of a medical provider—in a lawsuit brought on by Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region and the other clinics and physicians against the Ohio Department of Health and other state officials.

The new order also temporarily blocks another law that prohibits non-doctors from prescribing mifepristone, an abortion pill used in the procedure. Non-doctors in this scenario include midwives, advanced practice nurses and physician assistants.

If the state appeals Hatheway’s decision, it could eventually go to the Ohio Supreme Court. Abortion is considered a key issue, not only in the upcoming presidential and congressional elections but for judicial elections this fall. There are three seats up for grabs on the Ohio Supreme Court in November in an election that could change the partisan control of the liberal-leaning court.

Ohioans have already shown the power elections can hold when it comes to abortion rights. In the 2023 election, nearly 57 percent of voters supported a constitutional amendment, known as Issue 1, that guarantees each Ohioan’s right “to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions.”

In Hatheway’s recent order, she said it is clear “the status quo shifted drastically” when Issue 1 went into effect in December.

The state argued that the laws restricting medication abortions are vital to “the health and safety of all Ohioans.”

But Hatheway sided with the plaintiffs, writing, “The Amendment grants sweeping protections ensuring reproductive autonomy for patients in Ohio.”

She continued: “Plaintiffs have provided substantial evidence to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the Bans at issue here violate these newly enshrined rights in a manner that is not the least restrictive, and actually causes harm to Plaintiffs’ patients.”

“This most recent ruling is just another example of how they want abortion on demand, without any restrictions whatsoever,” Peter Range, senior fellow for strategic initiatives at Ohio’s Center for Christian Virtue, said in a statement following the judge’s decision, calling for a “return to common sense laws which protect women and protect the preborn in Ohio.”

Hatheway already temporarily blocked Ohio’s law banning telemedicine abortions in 2021, but the lawsuit was more recently amended, which included adding the passage of Issue 1.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.