Ohio appeals court upholds block on burial law for aborted remains

An Ohio court last week upheld a block on an Ohio law requiring the burial or cremation of the remains of aborted children.

Key Takeaways:

The Ohio First District Court of Appeals upheld a block on a law requiring the humane disposal of aborted babies.
Judges reaffirmed that the state's constitutional amendment enshrining abortion as a 'right' nullified the humane burial law.
Abortion facilities have been known to dispose of aborted children in landfills, freezers, and toilets, and leave them in their cars.

The Backstory:

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 27 into law in December 2020. The law, which required the respectful treatment of aborted remains through either cremation or burial, was immediately contested by the abortion industry and the ACLU, which filed a lawsuit seeking its overturn.

In February 2025, Hamilton County Judge Alison Hatheway ruled in favor of the ACLU and the abortionists, permanently blocking the law. In Hatheway's view, the law violated the constitutional amendment passed by voters in November 2023, which enshrined abortion as a 'right' in the Ohio constitution.

Never miss the latest news in the fight for life.

The Details:

In a February 25 ruling, Ohio’s First District Court of Appeals upheld Hatheway's ruling, again indicating that the state constitutional 'right' to abortion somehow means that fetal remains do not have to be given proper respect.

READ: Preborn baby found in South Carolina water treatment plant

“Ohio voters said what they meant,” the ruling stated. “The State may not burden, penalize, or discriminate against those who have an abortion and those who assist them in obtaining one.”

Despite the ruling, there is nothing in the law that would have impeded a woman from accessing or receiving an abortion. Instead, the law simply maintained that the remains of her preborn child would need to be treated in an appropriate manner.

Why It Matters:

The abortion industry is known for its callous treatment of the aborted remains of children, with disrespectful means of disposal, including flushing the remains down toilets, storing them in freezers, leaving them in their cars, or even using the bodies for electricity. Planned Parenthood in Ohio has previously been caught dumping bodies into landfills. Unfortunately, hospitals have been known to do the same with miscarried children, and there is no instruction for parents on how miscarried remains should be handled.

Ohio Right to Life issued a statement condemning the law's overturn.

“It’s unfortunate, but not a surprise, that the First District Court of Appeals sided with the abortion industry to stop Ohio’s fetal remains law from taking effect. Sadly, clinics will continue treating these precious little ones like garbage to be disposed of as cheaply as possible,” said Carrie Snyder, Executive Director of Ohio Right to Life. “This really underscores that abortion is not health care, and that clinics are going to do everything within their power to boost their profit margin.”

Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.

Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.

Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.

Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!