Abortion clinics ask judge to permanently strike down six-week abortion ban

CINCINNATI (WCMH) -- Ohio abortion clinics have asked a Hamilton County judge to permanently strike down the state's six-week abortion ban.

In an amended complaint filed Thursday, several Ohio abortion providers, backed by the state and national arms of the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood Federation of America, argued that the constitutional right to abortion, which came into effect Dec. 7, renders the six-week ban on the procedure unequivocally unconstitutional.

It's something Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a long opponent of increased access to the procedure, concluded himself before voters passed an amendment enshrining the right in November.

"The Ohio Constitution now plainly and precisely answers the question before the court -- whether the six-week ban is unconstitutional -- in the affirmative," the groups and clinics said in a statement. "The citizens of our state have made it crystal clear that Ohioans have the right to make their own personal medical decisions regarding reproductive freedom, including abortion, and that abortion bans will not be tolerated."

Issue 1, which nearly 57% of voters approved Nov. 7, establishes the right to make decisions about reproductive healthcare, including abortion, contraception, miscarriage care, pregnancy and fertility treatments. The amendment prohibits bans on the procedure before fetal viability, as determined by a patient's physician, and prevents any restrictions thereafter from applying when the health or life of the pregnant person is at risk.

In 2019, Gov. Mike DeWine signed the "Heartbeat Act" into law, which bans abortions after fetal cardiac activity can be detected, or about six weeks gestation. The ban was prevented from going into effect until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022 – and then was blocked again by Hamilton County Judge Christian Jenkins that September.

In the few months the six-week ban was in effect, abortions performed in Ohio fell drastically, according to data from the Society of Family Planning.

In their amended complaint, the clinics have asked Jenkins, a Democrat, to permanently block the ban it in light of Issue 1's passage.

Jenkins' approval of a preliminary injunction on the ban in October 2022 sparked an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court by Yost, who argued allowing the injunction to continue would irreparably harm the state's ability to preserve life. The Ohio Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in the case in September, is currently debating whether to dismiss the lawsuit.