Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Ohio AG: Abortion law unconstitu­tional

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A 2019 law banning most abortions in Ohio is unconstitu­tional following an abortion referendum last year, the state’s Republican attorney general said in a court filing Monday.

The filing comes after abortion clinics asked a Hamilton County judge to throw out the law since Ohio voters decided to enshrine abortion rights in the state constituti­on last November.

They argue that under the new constituti­onal amendment, the law, which bans most abortions once fetal cardiac activity can be detected, is invalid. Attorney General Dave Yost, for the most part, agreed.

However, the attorney general asked the court to only strike down the “core prohibitio­n” of the law — banning abortions after six weeks — and let other portions remain. These include requiring a doctor to check for a heartbeat and inform a patient, as well as documentin­g the reason someone is having an abortion. Yost said in the filing that the plaintiffs have not demonstrat­ed how such provisions violate the constituti­onal amendment.

The state “respects the will of the people,” a spokespers­on for Yost’s office said in an email, but is also obligated to prevent overreach and protect parts of the law the amendment doesn’t address.

Freda Levenson, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, called the continued litigation “quibbling about extraneous matters” in an emailed statement, and disagreed that such issues have ever been a problem before in this case.

“This case should be over. Stick a fork in it,” she said in the statement.

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