Ohio Abortion Clinics File Suit Over Waiting Period (Correct)

Ohio abortion clinics on Friday sued state officials over certain laws, including one requiring a waiting period of at least a day before obtaining the procedure, that remain on the books even though reproductive rights are now enshrined in the state constitution.

The lawsuit is the latest in what could be a series of court battles over implementation of the new constitutional amendment, which voters in an increasingly-red state overwhelmingly passed last November. Supporters and opponents of the amendment measure, known as Issue 1, have said political and practical realities will likely require judges and the Republican-controlled Ohio Supreme Court to decide which laws must be invalidated and which may remain.

The complaint, filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, also takes aim at a requirement that goes in tandem with the waiting period requirement. State law says patients must attend a separate in-person appointment before obtaining an abortion.

“It is deeply upsetting to Plaintiff providers to be forced to act contrary to the standard of care and their best medical judgment in sending patients away for no medical reason,” states the complaint, a copy of which was provided by the ACLU of Ohio Foundation. “Providers are well aware that doing so places their patients’ health and well-being at risk, and they know that many of their patients will struggle to return or even forgo basic necessities in order to make a second, medically unnecessary trip to the clinic.”

Another requirement being challenged dictates that abortion providers must provide certain information to patients, including when fetal cardiac activity is detected, the medical risks of an abortion, the probability of carrying a pregnancy to term, and family planning literature.

The complaint says the laws cause needless delays and run afoul of the new constitutional amendment. The clinics urge a judge to find the same and to block the laws, both while the case is pending and permanently.

State Attorney General Dave Yost (R) is named as a defendant, as are members of the state medical board, the Health Department director, and the prosecutors in the six counties where there are abortion clinics. A spokesman for Yost, whose office is expected to represent most of the defendants, didn’t immediately respond to an email.

The new lawsuit is separate from one challenging a state law effectively banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. A Hamilton County Common Pleas judge blocked that law from going in effect while the suit is pending, and he’s expected to rule by May 20 on whether the law violates the Ohio Constitution.

The doctors and clinics are also represented by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the American Civil Liberties Union and Covington & Burling LLP.

Michael Bloomberg donated $2 million to the main pro-Issue 1 group. Planned Parenthood has also received funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable organization founded by Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg Law is operated by entities controlled by Michael Bloomberg.

The case is Preterm-Cleveland v. Yost, Ohio Ct. Com. Pl., No. 24 CV 002634, filed 3/29/24.

(Corrects donation amount in tenth paragraph)