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The archive contains articles related to Ohio abortion and Republican lawmakers. These articles are from the Ohio Capital Journal.

The Ohio Capital Journal archives information related to the 2023 amendment on abortion rights in Ohio. This archive provides resources and updates specific to Ohio's abortion rights amendment efforts in 2023.

Access to abortion care is improving in Ohio. However, abortion opponents in the state continue their efforts to restrict it.

The Ohio Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Trumbull County Judge David Engler's claim that the state's 2023 reproductive rights amendment hindered his judicial role by eliminating parental-consent requirements and judicial bypass proceedings for minors seeking abortions. The court's dismissal upholds the amendment, which was approved by 57% of Ohio voters and enshrines abortion rights and reproductive health measures in the state constitution.

Four years after the Dobbs decision, Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights until viability, allowing women like Sarah Hanline and Ashley Ammerman to access abortion care despite severe fetal abnormalities. However, Ohio doctors still face legal fears and protesters continue to challenge patients, highlighting ongoing threats to abortion access in the state.

Ohio doctors testified against House Bill 347, which would require a 24-hour waiting period before abortion procedures, arguing it creates unnecessary barriers and discriminatory treatment not applied to other medical procedures. The Ohio Senate Health Committee paused consideration of the bill before a legislative break, with no vote scheduled until at least November, while a Franklin County court has halted enforcement of a similar waiting period law pending a lawsuit related to the state's 2023 abortion rights constitutional amendment.

The Ohio Senate Health Committee will hear supporter testimony this week on House Bill 347, which would reinstate a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion, requiring pregnant individuals to meet with a medical professional to receive informed consent information. The bill faces opposition due to a 2023 Ohio Constitutional amendment protecting reproductive rights and concerns that the waiting period creates barriers to abortion access, especially for low-income Ohioans.

The Columbus-based Center for Christian Virtue has asked federal prosecutors in Ohio to enforce the Comstock Act against mail-order abortion providers distributing mifepristone. This request comes amid ongoing legal debates and a recent Ohio constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights, with the group urging investigations and prosecutions in the state.

Ohio House Bill 324, which would require in-person appointments for medications deemed 'high-risk' including the abortion pill, has moved to an Ohio Senate committee after passing the House last year. Supporters say the bill increases oversight of dangerous drugs, while opponents warn it could restrict access to medication abortion and other necessary treatments in Ohio, especially in underserved areas.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office and the ACLU of Ohio have filed motions opposing Trumbull County Family Court Judge David Engler's claim that the 2023 Ohio Constitution amendment protecting reproductive rights interferes with his judicial role in parental-consent abortion cases involving minors. The Ohio Supreme Court has yet to decide whether to hear Engler's request to limit the amendment's application to preserve juvenile court jurisdiction over judicial bypass proceedings.

The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily paused a federal appeals court decision that would have banned mail and telehealth access to the abortion pill mifepristone, a move praised by Ohio reproductive rights advocates who warn that restricting the drug would harm public health in the state. Despite Ohio's 2023 constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights, Republican legislators and groups like Ohio Right to Life continue efforts to regulate abortion access and challenge the amendment in court.

Ohio Republican lawmakers continue to push legislation that undermines the abortion rights amendment approved by 57% of Ohio voters, including bills imposing 24-hour waiting periods and mandatory state-mandated information before abortions. Despite voter approval of abortion protections, the Ohio General Assembly has advanced multiple restrictive measures that are likely to face constitutional challenges in court.

The Ohio House passed House Bill 347 to reinstate a 24-hour waiting period for abortion care, requiring providers to meet with patients at least 24 hours before the procedure to provide consent information. The bill, supported by Ohio Republicans but opposed by Democrats, now moves to the Ohio Senate and faces potential legal challenges due to conflicts with the state's 2023 constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights.

Ohio Republicans introduced House Bill 783, which would require abortion providers to inform patients about a medically unsupported abortion 'reversal' method involving progesterone before administering the first dose of a two-dose medical abortion regimen. The bill also mandates the Ohio Department of Health to provide information and a hotline about this 'reversal' method, despite opposition from major medical organizations citing lack of scientific evidence and concerns over misinformation.

The Ohio House Health Committee approved House Bill 347, which mandates a 24-hour waiting period and informed consent requirements before abortion care, in a 9-3 party-line vote. The bill mirrors a currently blocked state law and faces opposition citing conflict with Ohio's 2023 constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights, with the measure now awaiting a full House vote before moving to the Senate.

Ohio House Bill 347 proposes reinstating a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion, requiring physicians to meet with patients to provide information and obtain informed consent, with penalties for noncompliance. Opponents argue the bill conflicts with the Ohio Constitution, discriminates against reproductive health care, and disproportionately burdens marginalized groups, while the bill's enforcement remains blocked by a Franklin County judge pending ongoing litigation.

Ohio's 2025 abortion report shows a 15% increase in abortions to 25,135, attributing the rise primarily to telehealth prescriptions provided to Ohio residents. The report also highlights low complication rates, an increase in out-of-state abortions, and ongoing political efforts by Ohio Republicans to regulate telehealth abortion services.

An Ohio appellate court struck down most provisions of Senate Bill 27, a 2020 law requiring abortion clinics to cremate and bury fetal remains, ruling it conflicts with the 2023 Ohio constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights. The court upheld only two provisions updating abortion reporting requirements, while affirming the amendment allows some state regulation of abortion related to health and safety.

Ohio Senate Bill 309 would require physicians to read a state-mandated liability statement to patients before administering mifepristone for medication abortion, aiming to increase accountability for complications. The bill received praise from anti-abortion groups and pregnancy resource centers during a Senate Health Committee hearing, while Democrats criticized it for potentially undermining informed consent and reproductive rights protected by Ohio's 2023 constitutional amendment.

Ohio Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted spoke against the abortion pill mifepristone during a U.S. Senate committee hearing focused on increasing regulations and FDA scrutiny of the drug. Concurrently, Ohio's General Assembly is considering Republican-led bills that would impose in-person prescription requirements and restrict telehealth options for medication abortion, reflecting ongoing state-level legislative efforts targeting abortion access.

The Ohio First District Court of Appeals sent a lawsuit challenging provisions of the 2019 Senate Bill 23, including the six-week abortion ban, back to the trial court while leaving the ban's unconstitutionality ruling intact. The court ruled that only the six-week abortion ban was struck down, but other provisions of the law are presumptively constitutional and must be reconsidered in lower court proceedings.

A national report from the Society of Family Planning shows telehealth abortions increased to 27% of all abortions in the first half of 2025, with significant growth in states with shield laws protecting abortion providers. In Ohio, despite a constitutional amendment protecting abortion services, ongoing legislative efforts and legal challenges to telehealth abortion access raise concerns about future restrictions on medication abortion and telehealth care delivery.

Ohio Republicans are advancing bills such as House Bill 370, which seeks to apply 14th Amendment rights to preborn persons and restrict abortion-related counseling, while Democrats introduced House Bill 128 to reinforce the 2023 constitutional amendment protecting reproductive rights. Additional Ohio legislation includes House Bill 245 aiming to remove anti-abortion language from pregnancy program grants, House Bill 410 targeting Medicaid funding for certain clinics, and bills requiring informed consent and imposing civil liabilities on abortion providers, all reflecting ongoing legislative battles over abortion in Ohio.

Lawyers with the Reproductive Rights Law Initiative at Case Western Reserve University and the ACLU of Ohio have filed a lawsuit with the Ohio Supreme Court accusing the Ohio Department of Health of withholding public records related to the licensure of the Toledo Women’s Center, an abortion clinic. The lawsuit claims the department unreasonably delayed granting the clinic's application to provide procedural abortions and improperly denied multiple public records requests under Ohio’s Public Records Act.

Ohio Republicans have introduced multiple bills aimed at restricting abortion access despite the 2023 constitutional amendment protecting reproductive rights in the state. These bills include measures to add informed consent requirements for the abortion pill mifepristone and mandate anti-abortion educational videos for fifth graders and older, while GOP leaders indicate a total abortion ban is unlikely to pass.