Judge expected to rule soon on challenge to Ohio’s 24-hour waiting period to get abortion
A Franklin County judge is expected to rule soon on whether to put a hold on enforcing Ohio’s mandatory 24-hour waiting period to get an abortion.
Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge David Young heard arguments Friday from abortion providers and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office. Young said he’ll render a decision on a request for a preliminary injunction against the law.
After Ohioans approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to abortion and other reproductive rights in 2023, attorneys sued to block policies that make it harder to get an abortion.
Lawyers challenged a rule that requires patients to wait at least 24 hours after their first in-person appointment to have an abortion. During that appointment, doctors must give patients state-approved information that they say goes beyond informed consent and can be stigmatizing and misleading.
Before an abortion, a provider must check for embryonic or fetal cardiac activity and offer the patient an opportunity to listen. The patient also must receive state-approved materials detailing family planning options and alternatives to abortion.
“It communicates to patients that there is something morally different about their treatment and that they should have a sense of shame about it, thereby stigmatizing them . ... ,” wrote Dr. Sharon Liner, medical director for Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region in a court filing.
State attorneys argue that clinics and doctors cannot sue on behalf of patients, so the case should be thrown out. They contend that Ohio’s laws protect patients and aren’t misleading.