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Ohio judge strikes down remaining portions of state's 'heartbeat law'
An Ohio judge struck down the remaining portions of the state's heartbeat law last week.
Though the portion of the law prohibiting abortion after the detection of an embryonic heartbeat was previously overturned, certain reporting requirements had remained. Those, too, have now been blocked.
An Ohio judge has fully blocked the state's law prohibiting abortion after a detectable heartbeat.
Though the portion of the law restricting abortion was already blocked, other portions including reporting requirements and cardiac testing were still in place.
The judge's ruling does not change the status of abortion in the state of Ohio.
The state's 'heartbeat law,' which prohibited the killing of preborn babies after a detectable heartbeat, was blocked following a lawsuit in 2022.
The state then challenged that ruling, arguing that the abortion businesses that sued hadn't challenged the entire law, only the portion restricting abortion. In January, the First Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the state and reinstated some portions of the law, including cardiac testing and a requirement that the abortionist determine why a woman is aborting.
The ruling did not change the status of abortion in the state, but instead sent the case back to trial court for those provisions to be discussed.
On October 29, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Christian overturned those remaining provisions. Jenkins wrote that because the heartbeat law "has gone the way of the dodo," and no longer exists, the "ancillary provisions" are also unconstitutional because they violate the Ohio amendment voters approved in 2023, which established abortion as a constitutional right.
As Cleveland.com reports:
"Among the ancillary provisions: the heartbeat law required physicians to report to the Ohio Department of Health their tests for cardiac activity and any exception to the six-week ban the doctors invoke. The law made it a fifth-degree felony to perform an abortion without first testing for cardiac activity.
Another provision allows women to sue doctors for wrongful death if the provider didn’t get their signature on a form acknowledging a fetal heartbeat. If the doctor loses, the woman gets up to $20,000 and court costs.
The law also subjects doctors who don’t keep certain medical records for seven years subject to discipline by the State Medical Board, with fines that would go into an adoption and foster care initiatives account."
“These measures were passed alongside the six-week ban to make it difficult, or impossible, to obtain abortion care in Ohio by placing providers at risk of criminal prosecution as well as professional and financial ruin,” Jenkins wrote in his ruling.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the state is reviewing its options as it determines the next course of action.
“We just received and are reviewing the court’s decision,” he told Cleveland.com. “Once we have had the opportunity to review the court’s order in detail, we will speak with our clients, evaluate the legal and factual rationale relied on by the judge, and consider next steps.”
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!
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·Ohio judge strikes down remaining portions of state's 'heartbeat law'
An Ohio judge struck down the remaining portions of the state's heartbeat law last week.
Though the portion of the law prohibiting abortion after the detection of an embryonic heartbeat was previously overturned, certain reporting requirements had remained. Those, too, have now been blocked.
An Ohio judge has fully blocked the state's law prohibiting abortion after a detectable heartbeat.
Though the portion of the law restricting abortion was already blocked, other portions including reporting requirements and cardiac testing were still in place.
The judge's ruling does not change the status of abortion in the state of Ohio.
The state's 'heartbeat law,' which prohibited the killing of preborn babies after a detectable heartbeat, was blocked following a lawsuit in 2022.
The state then challenged that ruling, arguing that the abortion businesses that sued hadn't challenged the entire law, only the portion restricting abortion. In January, the First Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the state and reinstated some portions of the law, including cardiac testing and a requirement that the abortionist determine why a woman is aborting.
The ruling did not change the status of abortion in the state, but instead sent the case back to trial court for those provisions to be discussed.
On October 29, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Christian overturned those remaining provisions. Jenkins wrote that because the heartbeat law "has gone the way of the dodo," and no longer exists, the "ancillary provisions" are also unconstitutional because they violate the Ohio amendment voters approved in 2023, which established abortion as a constitutional right.
As Cleveland.com reports:
"Among the ancillary provisions: the heartbeat law required physicians to report to the Ohio Department of Health their tests for cardiac activity and any exception to the six-week ban the doctors invoke. The law made it a fifth-degree felony to perform an abortion without first testing for cardiac activity.
Another provision allows women to sue doctors for wrongful death if the provider didn’t get their signature on a form acknowledging a fetal heartbeat. If the doctor loses, the woman gets up to $20,000 and court costs.
The law also subjects doctors who don’t keep certain medical records for seven years subject to discipline by the State Medical Board, with fines that would go into an adoption and foster care initiatives account."
“These measures were passed alongside the six-week ban to make it difficult, or impossible, to obtain abortion care in Ohio by placing providers at risk of criminal prosecution as well as professional and financial ruin,” Jenkins wrote in his ruling.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the state is reviewing its options as it determines the next course of action.
“We just received and are reviewing the court’s decision,” he told Cleveland.com. “Once we have had the opportunity to review the court’s order in detail, we will speak with our clients, evaluate the legal and factual rationale relied on by the judge, and consider next steps.”
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!
Nancy Flanders
·Politics
Cassy Cooke
·Politics
Cassy Cooke
·Politics
Bridget Sielicki
·Politics
Newsroom
·Politics
Nancy Flanders
·Human Interest
Bridget Sielicki
·Politics
Bridget Sielicki
·Human Interest
Bridget Sielicki
·Issues
Bridget Sielicki
·Human Interest
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·