Over the years, Ohio has enacted several life-affirming laws, becoming a strong pro-life state. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe, Ohio was able to enforce its “heartbeat” limit, which was originally passed in 2019. However, the law is currently not in effect due to ongoing litigation. While the “heartbeat” law is being litigated, Ohio allows abortions up until “the probably post-fertilization age of the unborn child is twenty weeks or greater.”
Ohio maintains fairly comprehensive protections for women and preborn children. The state’s informed consent process requires a 24-hour reflection period and requires abortion providers to inform women of pertinent information, including the risks associated with the abortion procedure and what agencies offer alternatives to abortion. Parental consent is required for minors seeking an abortion in Ohio. Additionally, the state provides protection for infants born alive after an attempted abortion and prohibits abortions sought because a preborn baby has Down syndrome. Ohio was also the first state to regulate the provision of abortion-inducing drugs.
Both the Ohio House of Representatives and State Senate are controlled by pro-life lawmakers. However, in November 2023, the state faces a ballot initiative that seeks to establish a state constitutional “right” to abortion.
Justices on the Ohio Supreme Court are elected through partisan primaries and partisan general elections, and pro-life conservatives maintain a majority in the state supreme court. There is some ongoing litigation regarding Ohio’s various pro-life laws, including the state’s heartbeat protection and the state’s ban on the use of telemedicine to obtain chemical abortion drugs.
Governor Mike DeWine, re-elected in the 2022 Mid-Terms by a large margin, has signed many life-affirming legislation into law. In response to the Dobbs decision, Governor DeWine gave a public address that called for civil debate on abortion and emphasized the work needed to be done to make Ohio “the most pro-family, pro-child state in the country.”
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Ohio Abortion Quick Facts
- Ohio prohibits abortions once a heartbeat is detected, however, the law is not in effect due to litigation.
- Chemical abortion pills could be more tightly regulated in Ohio.
Ohio’s Pro-Life Laws Across the Spectrum
Americans United for Life advances the human right to life across the spectrum of issues confronting the dignity of the human person. AUL’s comprehensive analysis of Ohio’s state laws on human life span the full spectrum of life issues from abortion, to health and safety protections, to patient informed consent, to conscience rights and bioethics.
Ohio’s Pro-Life Laws Key
- Yes, Ohio has this law and it is enforceable
- Ohio has this law in place, but it is currently not in effect due to litigation
- No, Ohio has no such law in place
- Not Applicable
- To Be Determined
State Constitutional Amendments and Statutes
Americans United for Life covers broad pro-life laws in this section. This includes both state constitutional amendments and state statutes designed to protect preborn human life. FOCA/RHA (or Freedom of Choice Acts/Reproductive Health Acts) are laws designed to enshrine and expand abortion and abortion businesses.
- Constitutional amendment stating no right to abortion
- Constitutional amendment preventing state funding of abortion
- Conditional law prohibiting abortion when Roe is overturned
- Pre-Roe abortion ban that will take effect when Roe is overturned
- FOCA/RHA, codifying an abortion right in state law
Mother-Child Gestational and Procedural Protections
States can protect both mother and child by limiting abortion by gestational age or prohibiting gruesome abortion methods. This category also includes life-saving care requirements for a child born-alive after an abortion, and health and safety requirements for a woman undergoing a chemical abortion.
- Gestational protections by age/week for preborn children
- Basic medical care for infant children born alive during attempted abortions
- Partial-birth (D&X) abortion ban
- Dismemberment (D&E) abortion ban
- Telemedicine abortion ban
- Follow up scheduled with patient for abortion pills complications
Prenatal Non-Discrimination (PRENDA) Protections
Increasingly states are enacting laws to protect unborn babies from eugenic abortions based on gender, disability, or race. Some states provide life-affirming resources for families who receive a diagnosis of a possible genetic anomaly like Down syndrome so they know that they’ll be supported.
- Protection against discrimination based on gender
- Protection against discrimination due to prenatal diagnosis
- Protection against discrimination based on race
- State-provided life-affirming resources for parents and families
Informed Consent Laws
Many states require a woman to give informed consent to an abortion, which holds abortion to a similar standard as other medical procedures. These protections include the disclosure of an abortion procedure’s nature and risks, the performance of an ultrasound to date the pregnancy and allow a woman to meet her unborn child if she chooses, and the time for a woman to reflect on this grave decision.
- Basic informed consent for mothers concerning abortion
- Patient signature or written confirmation of informed consent from provider
- Patient is provided state-sponsored informed consent website/information
- Reflection period (24 hours) protecting a mother’s discernment and choice
- An ultrasound is required to give a mother the opportunity to meet their child
- Information on risks of abortion procedure
- Information on the possibility of abortion pill reversal care
Abortion Reporting in Public Health Data
Reporting requirements ensure the government and public have a comprehensive view of abortion in the state when making important public policy decisions. This data includes basic information on instances of abortion, the gestational age of the aborted unborn child, demographics, procedure type, and complications.
- Basic reporting on instances of abortion
- Abortion reporting includes gestational age data
- Abortion reporting includes demographic information
- Abortion reporting includes procedure type
- Complication reporting
- Anonymized/aggregate data is made available to the public
- Anonymized/aggregate data is submitted to the CDC
Parental Rights and Protection of Minors
States protect a minor considering abortion by involving her parents in her life-changing decision, but also provide guidelines for judicial bypass to parental involvement when it is necessary. Other laws included in this section are safe haven laws which create a safe pathway to give up an infant and prevent child abandonment, and the dissemination of information on perinatal hospice to parents of unborn children with fetal anomalies.
- Parental consent before a minor obtains an abortion
- Parental notice of a minor obtaining an abortion
- Judicial bypass limits
- Mandatory reporting of suspected abuse
- Safe haven protections (30 days)
- Perinatal hospice resources
Basic Health and Safety Standards
These laws bring abortion businesses up to the health and safety standards of medical facilities. States may limit both chemical and surgical abortion procedures to physicians, require the physician be licensed by the state, and require emergency transfer agreements or admitting privileges for the physician or the facility to protect a patient if she suffers post-abortion complications.
- Established health and safety standards for abortion businesses
- Basic regulatory inspections for abortion businesses
- Only physicians can perform abortions (all methods)
- Physicians required to be licensed in the state
- Emergency transfer/admitting privilege patient protections
- Physician’s license/credentials are disclosed to patients
Legal Recognition of Human Dignity for Preborn Persons
This section covers the ways states recognize the human dignity of unborn children. States increasingly require dignified disposition of fetal remains, whether from abortion or miscarriage. The law may provide for the issuance of a fetal death or stillbirth certificate. States may also protect the dignity of unborn children by prohibiting fetal experimentation and banning the sale or transfer of human fetal remains.
- Dignified disposition of fetal remains required
- Parents may request dignified disposition
- Human fetal death or stillbirth certificate issued to recognize the life of human persons
- Sale or transfer of human fetal remains prohibited
- Fetal experimentation banned
Fetal Homicide and Wrongful Death/Life
Fetal homicide laws establish criminal penalties for the death of an unborn child. Wrongful death suits provide a civil cause of action for the death of an unborn child. A prohibition on wrongful life/birth suits affirms that no life is “unwanted.”
- Fetal homicide criminalization
- Fetal homicide law in place from the moment of conception
- Wrongful death suits
- Prohibition on wrongful life/birth suits
Assisted Suicide and Patient Care
These laws protect end-of-life patients from physician-assisted suicide, a practice that exploits vulnerable patients, has little government oversight, and undermines modern medicine. The Life-Sustaining Care Act ensures healthcare professionals may not override a minor patient or her surrogate’s decision to obtain or continue life-sustaining care. States with patient nondiscrimination acts protect patients from age or disability discrimination.
- Assisted suicide prohibition
- Life-sustaining care act
- Patient non-discrimination on the basis of age or disability
Bioethics, Human Cloning, and Embryo Research
As medical technology evolves, states increasingly enact pro-life bioethics policies to reaffirm human dignity and ban cloning. These laws also require ethical medical practices, ban destructive embryo research, and regulate assisted reproductive technology.
- Bans human cloning
- Bans taxpayer funding for human cloning
- Bans destructive embryo research
- Encourages ethical alternatives to embryo research
- Requires informed consent for assisted reproductive technologies
- Regulates egg harvesting
Healthcare Freedom of Conscience
These laws protect the freedom of conscience of healthcare professionals, institutions, and pharmacists against forced participation in assisted suicide and abortion. States also safeguard the conscience rights of healthcare professionals and institutions against unethical medical research.
- Individuals protected against abortion participation
- Public/Private institutions protected against abortion participation
- Pharmacists protected against abortion participation
- Individuals protected against participation in unethical research
- Private/public institutions protected against participation in unethical research
- Individuals protected against participation in assisted suicide
- Private/public institutions protected against participation in assisted suicide
- Pharmacists protected against participation in assisted suicide
Ohio Pro-Life Legislation Tracker
Abortion Inspection Initiative
Ohio has a substantial regulatory framework in place for the inspection and monitoring of abortion businesses. AUL submitted a public records request, under the Ohio Open Records Law, O.R.C. Ann. § 149.43 et seq., to the Ohio Department of Health and the State Medical Board of Ohio. The inspection reports provided to AUL reflect a number of businesses cited for unsanitary conditions, including multiple locations with stained carpets, dusty and dirty air vents, wall smears and similar cleanliness issues. Facilities were also cited for having improperly labeled predrawn syringes and unsecured oxygen tanks.
An incident at an Akron facility involved a patient having a panic attack at the facility, but the staff referred to the patient as “throwing a fit.” At another facility, staff failed to ensure the patient’s medical record accompanied her to the hospital. Another hospitalized patient’s medical record was missing key information including the reason for sending the patient to the hospital, method of transportation, and whether her medical record went to the hospital with her. At Capital Care Network, a patient was driven to the hospital by a staff member in lieu of an ambulance after a suction abortion failed to empty her uterus.
As in other states, Ohio’s facilities contained a number of expired medications and medical supplies. At the Akron facility, two staff members were likely obtaining Fentanyl and Demerol. The discrepancies in the medication supply records ceased after the suspected staff members’ departures. In another incident, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Regional had no emergency call system in the recovery room, leaving patients unable to call for help if alone in the recovery room and an emergency arose.
NUMBER OF REPORTS: 87
DATE RANGE: 2011–2019