Ohio AG asks Supreme Court to reinstate ban on most abortions

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wants the Ohio Supreme Court to reinstate the state's ban on most abortions sooner rather than later.

Yost's office appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court after the 1st District Court of Appeals sent a dispute over Ohio's abortion ban back to a Hamilton County judge. The appellate court's recent decision allows abortions to continue in Ohio through 21 weeks and 6 days into pregnancy − for now.

Ohio's 2019 law bans doctors from performing abortions after cardiac activity is detected, which is about six weeks into pregnancy. Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins placed that law on hold indefinitely and ruled that the Ohio Constitution protects the right to an abortion.

Yost's office challenged that decision, but the 1st District Court of Appeals rejected the appeal as premature. Now, Yost's office is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to weigh in.

"This case presents the question of whether the Ohio Constitution protects a right to abortion. The sooner the Court settles that question, the better," wrote Ohio Solicitor General Benjamin Flowers in an appeal filed last week. The appeal is discretionary, which means the Court can decide whether or not to address it.

The Ohio Supreme Court is under new leadership as Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy replaced outgoing Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor. Both judges are Republicans, but they split on a decision about the Toledo abortion clinic in 2018. Kennedy and fellow Republican justices ruled against the clinic.

Yost's office argues that there is no constitutional right to abortion in Ohio. The filing also contends that abortion clinics − as opposed to those seeking abortions − do not have the ability to challenge Ohio's abortion restrictions.

The filing describes abortion as a "morally contentious issue on which well-meaning citizens hold deeply felt, irreconcilable views."

"By deciding whether the Ohio Constitution takes this issue from the democratic process, the court can clarify Ohio’s ability to regulate abortion so as to address these competing interests," Flowers wrote.

Attorney Jessie Hill, who is representing Ohio's abortion clinics for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said it's not proper for Yost's office to ask the Ohio Supreme Court to weigh in on the merits of the case now.

"There's a little irony" in the request, she said, because Republicans criticized clinics for seeking relief from the Ohio Supreme Court last summer. The court chose not to weigh in at that time.

Ohio AG appeals abortion case to the Ohio Supreme Court by Jessie Balmert on Scribd

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

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio AG asks Supreme Court to reinstate ban on most abortions