The Ohio Supreme Court stopped the state's six-week abortion ban in a decision on Friday.
The ruling ended the ban that had been in place for over a year since the Supreme Court's ruling in June of 2022.
Ohio Supreme Court blocks state's abortion ban https://t.co/nB5X5j5Hbq https://t.co/nB5X5j5Hbq
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 16, 2023
"The state Supreme Court on Friday said the appeal was dismissed because of 'a change in the law,' referencing the constitutional amendment protecting reproductive rights," the Washington Examiner reported.
"The law was signed by Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) in 2019 and prohibited most abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, typically observable via ultrasound by six weeks gestation," it added.
State supreme court dismisses Ohio’s effort to enforce abortion ban https://t.co/PuAPh1sOEo
— Guardian news (@guardiannews) December 16, 2023
"The justices in March agreed to review a county judge’s order that blocked enforcement of the abortion restriction and to consider whether clinics had legal standing to challenge the law," the Guardian reported.
"They ultimately denied the Republican attorney general Dave Yost’s request that they launch their own review of the constitutional right to abortion, leaving such arguments for a lower court," it continued.
The Ohio Supreme Court has dismissed the state’s challenge to a judge’s order that has blocked enforcement of Ohio's near-ban on abortions for the past 14 months. https://t.co/zDKeisWFS3
— ABC News (@ABC) December 16, 2023
"The ban, initially blocked through a federal legal challenge, briefly went into effect when the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision was overturned last year," ABC News reported.
"It was then placed back on hold in county court, as part of a subsequent lawsuit challenging it as unconstitutional under the state constitution," it noted.
The new move is an abrupt change from the state's six-week ban that halted nearly all abortions in the state prior to the change.
The legal battle over the six-week abortion law adds to similar cases in other states where stronger restrictions were put in place last year and have been sued by abortion supporters.
The latest move in Ohio is a loss for pro-life advocates in Ohio who have vowed to continue efforts to reinstate the stronger restrictions in the days ahead. The battle over abortion is far from over in the state and nationwide as the issue continues to make headlines ahead of the next presidential election year with Democrats and Republicans debating over pro-life laws nationwide.
