The Ohio Supreme Court dismissed the state’s challenge to a judge’s blocking of the enforcement of Ohio’s six-week abortion ban, according to the Associated Press.
Following five months of litigation, the court has dismissed Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s appeal which requested to reinstate a six-week abortion ban within the state, FOX19 reported. The ruling now allows the case to be thrown back to the lower court, Hamilton County Common Pleas, where the lawsuit was originally filed. (RELATED: Court Rules Term ‘Unborn Child’ Can Remain On Abortion Ballot Measure)
Five abortion groups filed a lawsuit within the lower court to seek an injunction relief after the Heartbeat Act went into effect following the Dobbs ruling, according to FOX19. Signed by Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in April 2019, the Heartbeat Act prohibited most abortions after detecting a “fetal heartbeat,” which can be typically detected as early as six-weeks, the outlet reported.
An order blocking enforcement of Ohio’s abortion ban stands after the high court dismissed an appeal https://t.co/NI7laZ9pYk
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 16, 2023
Presiding Judge Christian Jenkins, however, blocked the enforcement of the abortion restriction, pushing Yost to appeal the block and request to launch a review of constitutional right to abortion, AP News reported.
Yost first appealed to the First District Court of Appeal, but the court ultimately dismissed the case, FOX19 reported. The attorney general then went to the Ohio Supreme Court where the judges in March agreed to review Jenkins’ order. (RELATED: State Supreme Courts To Decide The Fate Of Multiple Pro-Life Laws)
Ohio voters in November approved an amendment, called Issue 1, allowing abortion to be legal up to birth for some cases. Due to the amendment, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Yost’s appeal was “dismissed due to a change in the law.”
Abortion groups have now asked Judge Jenkins to block the abortion ban permanently, citing Yost’s own legal analysis which had circulated prior to the vote, according to AP News. They claim the passage cited, “Ohio would no longer have the ability to limit abortions at any time before a fetus is viable,” would provide them the legal foundation that would ultimately invalidate the six-week ban.