OHIO — Ohio's abortion clinics filed a lawsuit Wednesday in the Ohio Supreme Court to block the state's six-week abortion ban.
The lawsuit—filed on behalf of Preterm-Cleveland, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio, Planned Parenthood Greater Ohio, Women’s Med Group Professional Corporation, Northeast Ohio Women’s Center, Toledo Women’s Center, and Dr. Sharon Liner, an individual abortion provide—urges the Ohio Supreme Court to rule the six-week ban unconstitutional.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood Friday, Attorney General Dave Yost filed a motion to dissolve the injunction on Senate Bill 23, otherwise known as the state's "Heartbeat Bill" on the same day as the Supreme Court decision.
Lawmakers introduced SB 23 in 2019, but a federal judge stopped it, deeming it a violation of the precedent set by Roe v. Wade.
Prior to SB 23 going into effect, the state banned abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy under Casey v. Planned Parenthood. The exception to SB 23 is if the mother's life is in danger, and there's no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. It also bans the procedure for genetic anomalies.
“This sweeping measure, which prevents nearly every pregnant person from accessing essential care, is blatantly unconstitutional under Ohio’s state constitution which has broad protections for individual liberties," said attorney Freda Levenson, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.
Attorneys argue in the lawsuit that six weeks is not enough time, claiming people would have two weeks to learn they are pregnant, and then have a limited about of time to seek the care they need. They also argue that the Ohio Constitution protects health care decisions and individual liberties beyond the U.S. Constitution.
"The history of the Ohio Constitution makes clear that individual liberties and limits on legislative power are core values at the heart of the Constitution, reinforcing that the text should be interpreted to protect the right to abortion," according to the lawsuit.
Attorney General Dave Yost issued a statement in response to the lawsuit Wednesday afternoon.
"Races don't start at the finish line, and lawsuits don't start in the final court," Yost wrote. "Aside from filing the wrong action in the wrong court, they are wrong as well on Ohio law. Abortion is not in the Ohio Constitution."
Four Republicans and three Democrats make up the Ohio Supreme Court. The next steps will be for the court to hear arguments from both sides of the issue, and determine whether the six-week ban in unconstitutional.
The lawsuit is the latest among a handful of abortion providers or advocates filing lawsuits over abortion bans. In Louisiana, the court there blocked enforcement of the state's trigger ban, and Utah and Kentucky abortion advocates have also filed lawsuits.
"Absent action from the court, many Ohioans will be forced to give birth against their will, many will have illegal or dangerous abortions, and some will die," said Levenson.