Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Alison Hatheway blocked an Ohio law for the second time in one year that would require fetal remains from surgical abortions to be cremated or buried.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed the law, Senate Bill 27, in December 2020. It was intended to replace an earlier Ohio law requiring aborted fetuses to be disposed of “in a humane manner,” but without defining “humane,” AP News reported.
Under current law the new rules seek to replace, fetal remains from what is known as surgical, or procedural, abortions fall under existing rules for handling infectious waste, meaning they could be disposed of with material from other medical procedures.
Wednesday’s ruling follows the lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the ACLU, the ACLU of Ohio, and Fanon A. Rucker of the Cochran Firm-OH on behalf of the five reproductive health care providers that provide procedural abortions in Ohio.
According to the ACLU of Ohio, Hatheway first blocked enforcement of the requirement in April of last year, following an initial request for relief from the health care providers. The judge found then that compliance would be impossible because the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) failed to provide the rules and forms required by the law, and the judge, therefore, gave providers until February 8, 2022 to come into compliance.
In a joint statement, representatives from Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, ACLU, ACLU of Ohio, Women’s Med Center Dayton, Northeast Ohio Women’s Center and Preterm-Cleveland said, in part, “While we are grateful for today’s decision, safe, accessible abortion care is still in jeopardy across the state and the nation. We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure Ohioans have the freedom to make their own decisions about their bodies, their families, and their futures.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Judge Alison Hatheway” by Judge Alison Hatheway. Background Photo “Embryo Week 9-10” by lunar caustic. CC BY 2.0.
