A federal judge blocked part of an Ohio law late Thursday that bans the abortion method of dilation and evacuation in most cases, adding to a list of restrictions on the procedure that are or soon could be in legal limbo.
Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett in Cincinnati ordered the state not to bring criminal charges against doctors who perform the D&E procedure until the case can be fully litigated. Other parts of the law were allowed to proceed.
The ruling comes as the state's ban of abortions in cases involving a Down Syndrome diagnosis also is before the courts, and the ACLU plans a court challenge to a heartbeat abortion ban signed last week.
The ban on D&Es, the most common second-trimester abortion procedure, was signed by then-Gov. John Kasich (KAY'-sihk) last year. In Thursday's ruling, Barrett agreed with Planned Parenthood the law is likely to be declared unconstitutional because it places an undue burden on a "large fraction" of Ohio women.
Dr. Leana Wen, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, called the ruling a victory for patients' rights.
"This ban has no basis in medicine, which is why it has been opposed by the medical community," she said in an emailed statement. "Women's health care is health care. Reproductive health care is health care. And health care is a fundamental human right. Planned Parenthood will always safeguard the ability of our patients to access safe, legal abortion, no matter what."
Emails seeking comment were sent to spokespeople for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Ohio Right to Life.
The Ohio law defines D&E as "dismemberment abortion" of a living fetus. Barrett agreed with the plaintiffs that such language creates an "implicit fetal demise" requirement in the law — forcing doctors who perform the procedure to either end the life of a living fetus before conducting the abortion — which can be dangerous, ineffective or both — or not offering the D&E abortion at all.
"D&E is the only pre-viability second trimester abortion method available in the outpatient setting in Ohio," Barrett wrote. "Without the option of selecting a different method, or the ability to rely on a sufficiently broad medical exception, physicians who perform D&E are presented with a series of (fetal) demise options that layer risks on top of existing risks" — legally for doctors, and physically for their patients.
The state argued those risks are mitigated by an exception written into the law for the life of the mother or "serious risk" to her health.
Barrett rejected that argument, writing, "the medical exception is narrowly drafted at best, and unconstitutionally vague at worst."
He said graphic and unsettling descriptions of abortion procedures were necessary to include in his ruling, because preventing fetal pain is at the heart of efforts to restrict the procedure. Barrett said the general consensus of the medical community is that a fetus cannot feel pain before about 24 weeks' gestation, when neural connections to the cortex develop.
Still, he said the state of Ohio's interest in the case is legitimate.
"(T)he Court finds it unlikely that pre-viability fetuses feel pain," he wrote. "The Court recognizes, however, the State's interest in this area to prevent even the possibility."
Follow Julie Carr Smyth at http://www.twitter.com/jcarrsmyth .
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TRUMP TRIAL OPENING-AP EXPLAINS — Opening statements in Donald Trump’s hush money trial set the stage for weeks of testimony about the former president’s personal life and places his legal troubles at the center of his closely contested campaign against President Joe Biden. An AP reporter debrief. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready edits.
BIDEN-EARTH DAY — President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving households in low- and middle-income communities — while blasting Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready edits.
President Joe Biden campaigns in Tampa, Florida. Events at 3 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.
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TRUMP-HUSH-MONEY-MEDIA-BLOGS — With cameras not allowed at former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York, live news blogs are coming into their own as an important news tool. SENT: 710 words, photos.
TRUMP-HUSH MONEY — A longtime tabloid publisher is expected to tell jurors about his efforts to help Donald Trump stifle unflattering stories during the 2016 campaign as testimony resumes in the historic hush money trial of the former president. David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher, will be back on the stand Tuesday. SENT: 1,160 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 1,200 words after trial resumes at 9:30 a.m.
ELECTION 2024-TRUMP-ELECTION INTERFERENCE — Donald Trump faces serious charges in two separate cases over whether he attempted to subvert the Constitution by overturning the results of a fair election. Yet it’s a New York case centered on payments to silence an adult film star that might provide the only legal reckoning this year. Some legal experts are dubious about attempting to tie a record-keeping case to manipulating an election. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
SUPREME COURT-TRUMP-CAPITOL RIOT-THINGS TO KNOW — The core issue being debated before the Supreme Court on Thursday boils down to this: Whether a former president is immune from prosecution for actions taken while in office — and, if so, what is the extent of the immunity? SENT: 1,070 words, photo.
ELECTION 2024-PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania primaries on Tuesday will cement the lineup for a high-stakes U.S. Senate race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are expected to win their presidential nominations easily. SENT: 890 words, photos. Polls close at 8 p.m.
ELECTION 2024-BIDEN-ABORTION — President Joe Biden is heading to Tampa, Florida, to decry the state’s looming six-week abortion ban as his campaign continued to seize on reproductive rights as a key campaign issue. SENT: 890 words, photos, video.
TRUMP-HUSH MONEY — Donald Trump tried to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public, a prosecutor told jurors at the start of the former president’s historic hush money trial. SENT: 1,270 words, photos, video. With TRUMP-HUSH MONEY-TAKEAWAYS — Opening statements provide a clear roadmap of how prosecutors will try to make the case that Trump broke the law, and how the defense plans to fight the charges.
BIDEN-EARTH DAY — President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities — while criticizing Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change. SENT: 860 words, photos.
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Former president Donald Trump, center, awaits the start of proceedings at Manhattan criminal court, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. Opening statements in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial are set to begin. Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records as part of an alleged scheme to bury stories he thought might hurt his presidential campaign in 2016. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)
