Judge hears arguments in challenge to Ohio abortion law
CINCINNATI (AP) — The nation's abortion debate arrived in a courtroom in Ohio on Friday, as attorneys fighting for and against extending a stay on the state's near total ban on the procedure presented providers, medical scholars and ethicists to make their cases to a county judge.
A group of abortion clinics represented by the ACLU of Ohio has challenged the state law banning most abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected on grounds it violates provisions of the state constitution guaranteeing individual liberty and equal protection. It also says the law is unconstitutionally vague.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Christian Jenkins previously decided to pause the law through Oct. 12, after it took effect in the wake of federal abortion protections being overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in June. His next task is to decide whether to extend that pause throughout the course of the lawsuit, which may take years.
The testimony he heard Friday varied little from existing societal and political arguments for and against abortion.
Lawyers for abortion clinics presented witnesses who emphasized that abortion is safe, necessary health care and that pregnant Ohioans seeking the procedure were devastated when the law was briefly imposed after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade case in June.
Dr. Steven Ralston, a maternal and fetal medicine doctor at the University of Maryland, said limited exceptions included in Ohio's so-called “heartbeat” law are vague and worrisome to physicians, who face losing their medical licenses or felony charges for misinterpretations.
He testified to observing more danger to patients in pregnancy than in abortion.
“I’ve seen many, many more patients end up in intensive care units after having a baby compared to...