Appeal of Six-Week Abortion Ban Injunction Bounced by Ohio Court

Abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy are legal in Ohio for now, after a state appeals court refused to overturn an order precluding the state’s enforcement of a “heartbeat” ban while its constitutionality is being litigated.

Ohio’s appeals courts have very limited jurisdiction to review interim, or nonfinal, decisions, the Ohio Court of Appeals, First District, said Friday. And this case, where a trial judge paused the law’s enforcement to preserve the status quo pending an outcome on the merits, didn’t meet that standard, it said in dismissing the appeal.

The six-week ban requires physicians to perform an ultrasound ...