New lawsuit seeks to eliminate Ohio's 24-hour waiting period for abortions

A new lawsuit seeks to eliminate Ohio's requirement that patients wait 24 hours before obtaining an abortion.

The legal challenge, filed Friday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, is the first new lawsuit since Ohio voters enshrined reproductive rights in the state constitution in November. Other laws were already being challenged, such as the state's ban on most abortions.

More: Ohioans approved protections for abortion rights. But most restrictions remain on the books

The new lawsuit challenges state laws that require doctors to inform patients of the medical risks of abortions, the probable gestational age of the embryo or fetus and the medical risks associated with carrying the pregnancy to term during an in-person visit at least 24 hours before the abortions via medicine or a procedure.

Ohio abortion providers say these rules are unnecessary because physicians already practice informed consent and insulting because patients have already thoughtfully considered their decision to have an abortion.

"This is degrading to patients, who are capable of making their own free choices − who know their bodies and know what they want," wrote Sharon Liner, Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio’s director of surgical services.

Doctors must also provide state-produced literature about family planning and alternatives to abortions. Patients facing an emergency procedure can forgo these requirements, but those scenarios are rare. If doctors don’t comply, the state medical board can revoke their license and face lawsuits from patients.

“I deal with thousands of patients every year," wrote Dr. David Burkons, the medical director of Northeast Ohio Women’s Center. "It just is not my experience that these laws cause patients to rethink their decision once they have made it.”

The lawsuit also seeks to block a requirement that doctors test for embryonic or fetal cardiac activity. If doctors don’t perform that test, they could face a fifth-degree felony.

“These laws are now in clear violation of the newly amended Ohio Constitution, which enshrines the explicit and fundamental right to abortion and forbids the state from burdening, prohibiting, penalizing, and interfering with access to abortion, and discriminating against abortion patients and providers,” attorney Jessie Hill said in a statement.

These laws lead to delays, more expensive visits and logistical barriers, according to the lawsuit. Doctors recounted scenarios they had witnessed: a woman slept in her car parked at a McDonald's parking lot after driving hours to obtain an abortion. A patient in the military took four flights from the Middle East only to be told she had to wait another day. A person who drove from another state to have an abortion after a sexual assault; She had to return a week later.

“It was particularly traumatizing for this patient to wait an entire week for her abortion, as it meant having to continue for another week with a constant reminder of her rape," wrote Aimee Maple, a former patient advocate at Preterm.

These laws also single out abortion compared to other medical procedures.

“Mainstream medical consensus dictates that the best medical practice is to provide patients with timely abortion care without any unnecessary delays and that mandatory waiting periods for abortion do not improve patient health,” according to the complaint.

Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis said Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost would defend the common-sense laws.

"These health and safety regulations protect women," Gonidakis said. "It is unconscionable that the abortion industry thinks that women's health standards should be callously disregarded in order to promote a political agenda."

In the lawsuit, attorneys contend that "legal abortion is extremely safe" and leads to fewer health complications than carrying a pregnancy to term.

The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the law firm Covington & Burling LLP filed the lawsuit on behalf of Preterm-Cleveland, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, Women’s Med Group Professional Corporation, Northeast Ohio Women’s Center and Dr. Catherine Romanos.

Motion for Preliminary Injunction by Jessie Balmert on Scribd

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: ACLU sues Ohio over 24-hour waiting period for abortions