Ohio supreme court battle over six-week abortion ban begins

Abortion rights supporters and opponents will face each other in the Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday to debate whether the state should be permitted to implement a ban on abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy, a stage at which many individuals may not yet be aware of their pregnancy.

This legal challenge arises just weeks before Ohio becomes the sole state in the United States to directly vote on abortion in 2023. On November 7th, voters will have the opportunity to decide whether to establish abortion rights within the state's constitution. Should the Ohio Supreme Court reinstate the currently paused six-week ban, it could potentially disrupt the upcoming election and create chaos for abortion providers throughout the Midwest.

Abortion rights activists in Ohio faced a setback in court when they filed a suit regarding the language used in the referendum. Initially passed in 2019 prior to the US Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade and eliminating the nationwide abortion right, the six-week ban was temporarily suspended. However, following the fall of Roe last year, the ban was enforced.

Ohio abortion providers recounted distressing encounters with patients who were unable to receive necessary cancer treatments while pregnant, individuals who expressed suicidal thoughts due to their inability to access abortions, and women whose pregnancies involved severe fetal anomalies that would never result in the birth of a healthy baby.

One significant omission from the ban is exceptions for cases of rape or incest, which led to multiple minors having to travel out of state for abortions after being sexually assaulted, as confirmed by court records. The case of a 10-year-old rape victim has received national attention.

In the previous autumn, a lower court in Ohio agreed to temporarily block the enforcement of the six-week ban. Now, the state's Supreme Court will hear the case, addressing procedural concerns related to the limits of the Ohio government and the legal authority of abortion providers.

Ohio is one of the few Midwestern states that still permits abortion. If the state's abortion clinics are forced to close, the already overwhelmed providers in neighboring regions and along the coasts of the US will likely experience an influx of patients seeking services from Ohio.

In a significant victory for anti-abortion activists, the Ohio Supreme Court made a ruling earlier this month. In late August, supporters of the referendum to include abortion rights in Ohio's constitution filed a lawsuit against the state's ballot board, accusing it of employing misleading language in an attempt to sway voters against abortion rights.

Last week, the Ohio Supreme Court determined that although the ballot board needed to amend a small portion of the ballots, the majority of the language could remain, including the term "unborn child" to describe a fetus.

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