Ohio voters approved reproductive rights. Will the state’s near-ban on abortion stand?

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A county judge could rule as early as Monday on Ohio’s law banning virtually all abortions, a decision that will take into consideration the decision by voters to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution.

The 2019 law under consideration by Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Christian Jenkins bans most abortions once cardiac activity can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy, before many women are aware.

A group of abortion clinics sought to overturn the law even before voters approved Issue 1, which gives every person in Ohio “the right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions.”

Ohio’s Republican attorney general, Dave Yost, acknowledged in court filings that the 2023 amendment rendered the ban unconstitutional, but has sought to maintain other elements of the prohibition, including certain notification and reporting provisions.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«Related stories» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Related stories </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Abortion rights initiatives make the ballot in South Dakota and Colorado </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Judge says South Carolina can enforce 6-week abortion ban amid dispute over when a heartbeat begins </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Judge dismisses lawsuit by Georgia court candidate who sued to keep talking about abortion </bsp-custom-headline> </bsp-list-loadmore>

Ohio was the only state to consider a statewide abortion rights question in 2023, joining a growing number of