The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio announced Friday it filed a lawsuit on behalf of abortion providers across the Buckeye State challenging state law that says women must wait a minimum of 24 hours after an in-person medical consultation before getting an abortion performed.
Under current state law, abortions may only be performed or induced at least 24 hours prior to patients consulting with a physician about the procedure, among other paperwork-related requirements.
The ACLU says the state’s current law is unconstitutional following the passage of Issue 1 last November where voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing abortions to be performed through all nine months of pregnancy for any reason.
🚨BREAKING: We just filed a lawsuit on behalf of Ohio abortion providers challenging several abortion restrictions that violate Ohio’s constitutional right to reproductive freedom passed on November 7, 2023. pic.twitter.com/AxUXoyMYXZ
— ACLU of Ohio (@acluohio) March 29, 2024
“These laws are now in clear violation of the newly amended Ohio Constitution, which enshrines the explicit and fundamental right to abortion and forbids the state from burdening, prohibiting, penalizing, and interfering with access to abortion, and discriminating against abortion patients and providers,” Jessie Hill, cooperating attorney for the ACLU of Ohio, said in a statement.
Friday’s lawsuit was filed in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Preterm-Cleveland, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, Women’s Med Group Professional Corporation, Northeast Ohio Women’s Center, and Dr. Catherine Romanos.
The ACLU’s lawsuit challenging Ohio’s abortion law comes days after the organization filed a lawsuit on behalf of two families challenging the Saving Ohio Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, which is included in the recently-passed House Bill 68.
The SAFE Act prevents doctors from providing minors with gender-affirming care, which includes performing gender reassignment surgery and prescribing cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers.
The ACLU argues that gender-affirming care is “lifesaving healthcare used to treat those with gender dysphoria.”
House Bill 68 is scheduled to take effect on April 23.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
