Ohioans march at statehouse, praise abortion ruling
Exactly one month until the election and a day after an Ohio judge blocked the state’s six-week abortion ban, a few hundred protesters marched around the Ohio Statehouse advocating for abortion rights.
“O-H! I-O! Abortion bans have got to go!”
“Abortion is health care.” “Not the church, not the state, the people must decide their fate!” rang out Saturday afternoon on South Third and High and East Broad and State streets.
A handful of speakers, including two women running on the Nov. 8 ballot, spoke up during the rally.
“Over the years, I have seen too many restrictions on women’s health and their access to care,” said Dr. Anita Somani, the Democratic candidate for Ohio’s 11th House District. “We all know that politics do not belong in the exam room.”
She referenced the 10-year-old Columbus girl who went to Indianapolis to receive an abortion and other young girls who have also had to cross state lines to get an abortion.
“What about the girls who don’t have support or are afraid to share their stories?” Somani asked.
She praised the temporary block of Ohio’s sixweek abortion ban but gave a warning.
“You can bet if the Republicans win the Ohio Supreme Court and the governor’s race, they will once again ban abortion at six weeks,” Somani said.
On Friday, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins, a Democrat, granted a preliminary injunction to block Ohio’s law, which bans doctors from performing abortions after cardiac activity is detected, about six weeks into a pregnancy. The law was in place for about three months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned abortion protections in Roe v. Wade.
The ruling means abortion will be legal in Ohio until 20 weeks post-fertilization or 21 weeks, six days after the person’s last period. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, is expected to appeal.
“We are saddened yet not surprised by this so-called decision,” Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis said. “The abortion clinics literally forum-shopped to get the outcome they wanted. This is a moment in time for the pro-life movement and we are convinced that the Ohio Supreme Court will overturn this ruling.”