by J.D. Davidson
The state will appeal a court’s decision to stop Ohio’s heartbeat law while abortion-rights groups challenge it in state court, Attorney General Dave Yost announced.
As expected, the state filed its notice of appeal of Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins’ temporary restraining order that stopped the law from going into effect while a lawsuit challenging it continues.
Bethany McCorkle, communications director for Yost, said the state plans to file its brief under the schedule dictated by Ohio law after the trial court record is filed.
Yost’s decision came after consulting with Gov. Mike DeWine’s office, according to a news release.
Abortion rights groups – including Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio, Preterm-Cleveland, Women’s Med Group Professional Corporation, Northeast Ohio Women’s Center, Toledo Women’s Center, and Dr. Sharon Liner – filed the suit.
Under Senate Bill 23, a doctor who conducts an abortion after the fetal heartbeat could face up to a year in prison with a fifth-degree felony. The State Medical Board could also take further disciplinary action, which could include up to $20,000 in fines.
As previously reported by The Center Square, Jenkins twice ordered 14-day stops on the bill before ordering the injunction late last week.
In the first order, as previously reported by The Center Square, Jenkins ruled the state’s fetal heartbeat bill did not violate the U.S. Constitution after Roe’s reversal, but it may violate the Ohio Constitution.
Among other things, a 2011 voter-passed amendment to the Ohio Constitution prohibits federal, state or local law enforcement from stopping the purchase or sale of health care or health insurance, and prohibited federal, state or local laws from imposing penalties or fines for the sale or purchase or sale of health care.
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An Ohio native, J.D. Davidson is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years of experience in newspapers in Ohio, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. He has served as a reporter, editor, managing editor and publisher. Davidson is a regional editor for The Center Square.
Photo “Dave Yost” by Dave Yost.
