Judge blocks 24-hour waiting period for abortions in Ohio, citing 2023 reproductive rights amendment

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A county judge in Ohio temporarily blocked several state laws on Friday that combined to create a 24-hour waiting period for obtaining an abortion in the state, in the first court decision on the merits of a 2023 constitutional amendment that guarantees access to the procedure.

Republican Attorney General Dave Yost said he would appeal.

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David C. Young said the language of last year's Issue 1 was “clear and unambiguous.” He found that attorneys for Preterm-Cleveland and the other abortion clinics and physician who sued clearly showed “that the challenged statutes burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with, and discriminate against patients in exercising their right to an abortion and providers for assisting them in exercising that right.”

The challenged rules included a 24-hour waiting period requirement, the requirement for an in-person visit and several state mandates requiring those seeking abortions to receive certain information. Young said the provisions don’t advance patient health.

“This is a historic victory for abortion patients and for all Ohio voters who voiced support for the constitutional amendment to protect reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy,” Jessie Hill, cooperating attorney for the ACLU of Ohio, said in a statement. “It’s clear that the newly amended Ohio Constitution works as the voters intend: to protect the fundamental right to abortion and to forbid the state from infringing on it except when necessary to protect the health of a pregnant person.”

Hill said the ACLU will push forward in an effort to make the temporary injunction permanent.

Young rejected the state’s argument that the legal standard that existed before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 should have been applied. The Dobbs decision that replaced Roe sent the decision-making power back to the states, Young wrote.

Yost's office said 24-hour waiting periods and informed consent laws were consistently upheld under Roe, which was the law of the the land protecting legal abortions for nearly 50 years.

“We have heard the voices of the people and recognize that reproductive rights are now protected in our Constitution," Yost spokesperson Bethany McCorkle said in a statement. “However, we respectfully disagree with the court’s decision that requiring doctors to obtain informed consent and wait 24 hours prior to an abortion constitute a burden. These are essential safety features designed to ensure that women receive proper care and make voluntary decisions.”