heartbeat law | The Ohio Star

South Carolina Supreme Court Upholds State’s Pro-Life Heartbeat Bill

August 24, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wednesday the state’s pro-life law that prohibits most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected is constitutional and may be enforced.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling marks a historic moment in our state’s history and is the culmination of years of hard work and determination by so many in our state to ensure that the sanctity of life is protected,” said Governor Henry McMaster (R) in a statement. “With this victory, we protect the lives of countless unborn children and reaffirm South Carolina’s place as one of the most pro-life states in America.”

Iowa Judge Temporarily Blocks State’s Newly Signed Heartbeat Abortion Ban

July 18, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Unborn babies up to 20 weeks’ gestation are once again able to be aborted in Iowa after a judge temporarily blocked the state’s new Heartbeat Protection Act which Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed into law on Friday.

As the measure was signed into law, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Planned Parenthood North Central States, and the Emma Goldman Clinic filed a legal challenge against its enforcement.

Anti-Life Groups Propose Amendment to Enshrine Abortion in Ohio Constitution

February 22, 2023February 22, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Two anti-life organizations submitted language for a new ballot initiative Tuesday that would enshrine abortion in the Ohio Constitution despite existing pro-life laws. Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights (OPRR) filed the language for their ballot initiative, titled The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety amendment, with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R), according to a press release.

Chief Justice Kennedy Promises ‘A New Day’ at the Ohio Supreme Court

January 27, 2023January 26, 2023 Hannah Poling

Taking her ceremonial oath of office on Wednesday, Ohio’s new Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy promised “a new day” at the high court and could cast the deciding vote on crucial topics in the state like abortion and redistricting.

Kennedy, who becomes the second female justice to preside over the state’s highest court, said she didn’t initially picture the moment.

Ohio Attorney General Asks Supreme Court to Lift Order Blocking ‘Heartbeat Law’

January 12, 2023January 11, 2023 Hannah Poling

Attorney General Dave Yost is requesting that the Ohio Supreme Court reinstates the heartbeat law as readily as possible, which blocks the majority of abortions once a fetal heartbeat is found.

In accordance with the 2019 Ohio law, doctors are not permitted to perform abortions once heart activity has been identified, or around six weeks into a pregnancy. The law went into effect the same day the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24th, 2022.

Ohio Will Appeal Hold on ‘Heartbeat Law’

October 15, 2022October 14, 2022 The Center Square

The state will appeal a court’s decision to stop Ohio’s heartbeat law while abortion-rights groups challenge it in state court, Attorney General Dave Yost announced.

As expected, the state filed its notice of appeal of Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins’ temporary restraining order that stopped the law from going into effect while a lawsuit challenging it continues.

Hold on Ohio Abortion Restriction to Last at Least Two More Weeks

September 22, 2022September 21, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Christian Jenkins (D) this week indicated he will extend his hold on a significant Ohio abortion-restricting law for two additional weeks.

Jenkins’s decision prolongs the effect of a decision he made last week to obstruct the Heartbeat Act’s implementation, with the initial freeze to last two weeks. The state General Assembly passed and Governor Mike DeWine (R) signed the bill (SB 23) in 2019. The legislation, which prohibits aborting unborn children who have detectable heartbeats, could not take effect until this year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

South Carolina Supreme Court Temporarily Halts Heartbeat Law

August 19, 2022August 18, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

The South Carolina Supreme Court has temporarily blocked continued enforcement of the state’s Heartbeat law, which bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected.

The court’s order Wednesday grants abortion providers an emergency motion that will halt enforcement of the law which has been in effect since June 27, several days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Judge Blocks Two Kentucky Pro-Life Laws with Claim That the Idea Life Begins at Conception Is ‘Distinctly Christian’

July 27, 2022July 26, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

A judge has temporarily blocked two Kentucky laws that would effectively ban abortion in nearly all circumstances, claiming the idea that life begins at conception is a “distinctly Christian” view and that the notion that a disproportionate number of abortions occurs among black women is suggestive of eugenics is “baseless.”

Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Mitch Perry sided with the abortion providers Friday, granting them a temporary injunction against the state enforcing its Human Life Protection Act and Heartbeat Law, referring to the measures as the Trigger Ban and Six Week Ban, respectively.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Asked to Verify Police Report of Biden Claim of 10-Year-Old Raped Girl Who Allegedly Left Ohio for Indiana to Obtain Abortion

July 12, 2022July 12, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) apparently continues to have little to say about the claim made by Joe Biden Friday that a 10-year-old girl who was allegedly raped and became pregnant traveled from Ohio to Indiana to obtain an abortion.

On Friday the Ohio Capital Journal led with the headline, “DeWine: No Comment on Abortion Ban that Forced a Child to Indiana,” and added, “Ohio governor signed ban, but will only say rape is wrong.”

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron Asks State Court of Appeals to Reinstate Pro-Life Laws

July 2, 2022July 1, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron quickly asked the state’s Court of Appeals to stay a circuit court’s ruling that temporarily blocked the enforcement of two state pro-life laws. Cameron filed a Writ of Mandamus and Prohibition Thursday, requesting the Kentucky Court of Appeals lift a temporary restraining order against both…

Ohio Supreme Court Allows Heartbeat Law to Remain in Effect, Denies Abortion Providers’ Request to Allow Procedure to Continue

July 2, 2022July 1, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

The Ohio law that bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, generally at six weeks’ gestation, will remain in effect while a lawsuit filed by abortion providers continues against it.

The law took effect after the state Supreme Court denied a request by abortion providers for an emergency stay on the legislation to allow abortions to continue while the lawsuit proceeds.

ACLU and Planned Parenthood File Lawsuit in Ohio Supreme Court to Block Enforcement of Heartbeat Law

June 30, 2022June 30, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Planned Parenthood, and a group of Ohio abortion facilities filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Ohio Supreme Court that seeks to overturn the state’s heartbeat law which began being enforced soon after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

The pro-abortion groups claim in the lawsuit Ohioans have a “fundamental right to abortion” under the Ohio Constitution, “as guaranteed by the Ohio Constitution’s broad protections for individual liberties under Article I, Sections 1, 16, and 21, and the equal protection guarantee under Article I, Section 2.”

Ohio Abortion Clinics Remain Open After Heartbeat Abortion Law in Effect

June 29, 2022June 29, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Ohio’s heartbeat abortion law that bans the procedure once a fetal heartbeat can be detected was in effect soon after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade.

The state’s nine abortion clinics, six of which perform surgical abortions, are still open, however, according to a report Monday at WKSU public radio.

Ohio Prosecutors in Columbus and Cuyahoga County Will Not Prosecute Illegal Abortions

June 29, 2022June 28, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley announced this week they will not prosecute abortionists who violate Ohio’s “heartbeat law.”

Signed three years ago by Gov. Mike DeWine (R), the act disallows abortions to be performed once a fetal heartbeat is detectable, which becomes the case about six weeks into a pregnancy. With last week’s overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, the heartbeat law is now in effect.

Abortions Banned in Ohio After Six Weeks of Pregnancy

June 28, 2022June 28, 2022 The Center Square

Ohio’s fetal heartbeat law, on hold since 2019 when a federal judge blocked it, is now law following Friday’s historic U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Federal Judge Michael Barrett lifted the preliminary injunction that had stopped the state from enforcing the heartbeat bill passed and signed into law in 2019. Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order to allow the Ohio Department of Health to immediately adopt rules established in the bill.