COLUMBUS, Ohio — The abortion debate continues in Ohio after Friday’s ruling put a temporary block on the 24-hour-waiting period. 

That brings up the question: Does that ruling in Ohio align with other states across the board? 

What You Need To Know

  • Anyone seeking an abortion in the state of Ohio no longer has to wait 24 hours after getting initial counseling on the procedure

  • The ruling comes after Ohio voters passed Issue 1 last year

  • According to Guttmacher, waiting period laws vary from state to state

ACLU of Ohio Cooperating Attorney Jessie Hill said Friday’s preliminary ruling is a step in the right direction. 

This comes after Ohio voters passed Issue 1 last year, putting reproductive rights into the state's constitution, but Hill said waiting period laws vary from state to state.

“It really is a mixed bag,” she said, “and things are very much in the process of changing.”  

According to Guttmacher, 14 states outlaw abortion, while 12 others have mandatory waiting periods in place, but Hill said those waiting periods usually put a burden on select groups of people.

“People who those who may struggle to pay costs of transportation,” Hill said, “who may have to forgo wages if they're missing additional work to make an additional trip to the clinic, who have to struggle to arrange child care so that includes low income individuals, and all kinds of groups of people who otherwise struggle to access health care — those with disabilities, for example." 

But proponents of the waiting periods say they’re important, because once an abortion takes place there’s no going back.

"It's a commonsense law that gives women pause, time to think and reflect and know about all the resources that exist in her community, whether or not she should make what could be the most impactful decision that she's ever going to make in her life," Senior Fellow at the Center for Christian Virtue Peter Range said.

Range explained the reason more than half the states have either a ban or require women to wait after their first consultation.

"The purpose of a 24-hour waiting period is so that the woman who's thinking about having abortion knows about all the resources that are available in her community that can assist her throughout a pregnancy," he said. "It also tells her what exactly the abortion procedure will look like. So, she knows exactly what she's getting into.”

Attorney General Dave Yost’s Office said it will appeal the ruling. Hill said the case will likely end up before the Ohio Supreme Court.