By Dave Andrusko
Well, that didn’t take long. On Friday Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge David Young temporarily blocked Ohio’s mandatory 24-hour waiting period for mothers seeking an abortion. This week Planned Parenthood announced it “will begin phasing in same-day abortion services in Ohio,” Samantha Hendrickson reported for the Columbus Dispatch.
“While same-day abortion services will not start immediately, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio said that clinics across the state will become operational in the coming weeks.”
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office said they plan to appeal.
Under Ohio law, patients are given a 24-hour waiting period after receiving state-mandated information before receiving an abortion. However, the ACLU and Ohio abortion providers successfully challenged the life-affirming provision.
“In a 26-page decision, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David Young wrote the five clinics that provide abortion services represented by the ACLU of Ohio have a strong likelihood of success on the merits of the case and the plaintiffs ‘are suffering injury each day their constitutional rights are infringed upon,” Karen Kasler wrote for the Statehouse News Bureau.
The lawsuit challenged state laws “that require doctors to inform patients of the medical risks of abortions, the probable gestational age of the embryo or fetus and the medical risks associated with carrying the pregnancy to term during an in-person visit at least 24 hours before the abortions via medicine or a procedure,” Jessie Balmert reported for the Cincinnati Enquirer
Pro-lifers strongly disagreed.
“A 24-hour waiting period for an irreversible, life altering decision does not interfere with a mother’s ability to abort her child,” said Ohio Right to Life President Michael Gonidakis. “The law merely allows a reflection point for a 24-hour period to give appropriate education and reflection to the finality of the decision to abort.
“Abortion ends a child’s life and Ohio’s 24-hour waiting period has led to countless babies being born in Ohio. Instead of rushing a mother to abort her baby, she deserves the time and resources to adequately reflect on this decision.”
In November 2023, Ohioans approved the “Reproductive Freedom Amendment” that embedded abortion in the state constitution. “But some policies, like the mandatory waiting period after a patient’s initial appointment, remained on the books,” Hendrickson wrote.
“We have heard the voices of the people and recognize that reproductive rights are now protected in our Constitution,” Attorney General Yost said in a statement. “However, we respectfully disagree with the court’s decision that requiring doctors to obtain informed consent and wait 24 hours prior to an abortion constitute a burden. These are essential safety features designed to ensure that women receive proper care and make voluntary decisions. These measures were consistently upheld under Roe v. Wade. We plan to appeal this ruling.”