Ohio’s law mandating abortion patients wait 24 hours before undergoing an abortion procedure is now being temporarily blocked.
On Friday, the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas granted a request by the ACLU of Ohio to block certain restrictions around abortion procedures in the state.
The ruling also affects the in-person visit requirement and the state-mandated information requirements before abortion procedures.
The ACLU of Ohio cited the Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment to the state constitution, which took effect in December 2023, as cause to challenge those requirements.
Pro-choice advocates have claimed that the law originally was a barrier for women seeking abortion care.
“In November of 2023 when Ohioans passed the Reproductive Freedom Amendment, they sent a really clear message to the state that we want government out of our health care decisions,” said Jessie Hill, an attorney for ACLU of Ohio. “We’re just trying to carry out the promise of that amendment.”
The anti-abortion organization Ohio Right to Life released a statement following the ruling.
“A 24-hour waiting period for an irreversible, life-altering decision does not interfere with a mother’s ability to abort her child. 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,” the group said.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has been fighting the case for months, and his office reacted in a statement after the ruling.
“We have heard the voices of the people and recognize that reproductive rights are now protected in our Constitution. 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.” the statement reads. “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.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine previously shared Yost’s sentiments.
“Those guardrails worked well before, and so I don’t see any reason to change those,” DeWine said in May.
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