Abortions increased in Ohio but legal battle continues
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The number of clinician-provided abortions in Ohio increased 13% in 2024, per a new report from the Guttmacher Institute.
Why it matters: The increase shows the impact from the amendment enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution in November 2023.
- Yet the battle of Ohio abortion rights continues.
By the numbers: Ohio clinicians performed close to 30,000 abortions last year, per estimates by Guttmacher, nearly 3,500 more than in 2023.
- That includes 4,010 abortions performed on people who travel from out of state compared to 3,120 in 2023.
Catch up quick: The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, effectively ending all federal protections on abortion.
- That September, an Ohio court blocked a six-week abortion ban known as the "heartbeat bill" enacted after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
State of abortion: Ohioans voted a year later for the constitutional amendment that guarantees a right to an abortion.
- The state constitution now allows abortions up to fetal viability, which is defined as "the point in a pregnancy when, in the professional judgment of the pregnant patient's treating physician, the fetus has a significant likelihood of survival outside the uterus with reasonable measures. This is determined on a case-by-case basis."
Yes, but: Organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood have still had to challenge restrictions in the Ohio Revised Code, including a 24-hour waiting period for abortion services as well as a ban on telehealth medication abortion services.
- Judges have since issued preliminary injunctions suspending several of those restrictions.
The other side: Last November, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed an appeal of a Hamilton County judge's decision a month earlier to strike down the "heartbeat bill."
- "The state respects the will of the people regarding the six-week abortion ban, but the state is also obligated to protect provisions in (the bill), as passed by the General Assembly and signed by the governor, that the constitutional amendment does not address," Yost's office said in a statement.
What's next: Legal challenges to abortion bans, including Yost's, could ultimately go to the Ohio Supreme Court.
- Republicans hold a 6-1 majority on the high court.
The bottom line: Supporters of abortion rights claimed a major victory in 2023, but the issue is not yet fully settled in the state.