A county judge could rule as early as Monday on the US state of Ohio’s law banning virtually all abortions, a decision that will take into consideration the decision by voters to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution.
Ohio was the only state to consider a statewide abortion rights question in 2023, joining a growing number of states where voters are choosing to protect abortion access since the US Supreme Court overturned the nationwide protections granted by its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. Minority Democrats proposed a House measure to bring state law into compliance with the new amendment outside the courts.
Then-Republican governor John Kasich twice vetoed the measure, arguing it was unlikely to pass constitutional muster in a time when Roe v. Wade was still the law of the land.