Exam room at Planned Parenthood. (Photo: Kyle Pfannenstiel, States Newsroom.)
In a quick hearing that ended with opponents shouting “shame on you,” the Ohio House Health Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would effectively add a 24-hour waiting period for abortions.
This measure is similar to a state law that is currently not enforced because a judge did so blocked it due to the course of court proceedings.
Ohio House Bill 347 was approved on a 9-3 majority along party lines by Republican lawmakers on the committee, with no further testimony or action on the bill.
The act requires a doctor to meet with a pregnant woman at least 24 hours before the abortion in order to provide information about informed consent to the abortion, and also establishes civil penalties against a doctor who violates the act.
The Ohio State Medical Board would also be authorized to create regulations “specifying the adverse physical or mental conditions resulting from abortion that a physician must disclose as possible complications when meeting with the pregnant person(s) as part of the informed consent process.”
Sponsors and supporters of the bill claim that this solution does not stop abortion, but only encourages doctors to provide patients with information before performing an abortion.
State Rep. Jennifer Gross, R-West Chester, said during a previous hearing on the bill that the requirements give a pregnant woman “the opportunity to see all the data” in a situation that she said is “not forced or rushed.”
Opponents say the bill is inconsistent with changing the constitution passed by Ohio voters in 2023, which added abortion rights to the state constitution.
During a hearing on the bill earlier this month, abortion rights advocates said the bill would have its greatest impact on low-income, rural and minority groups.
Advocates say these are typically the groups that must travel the furthest for medical care, face transportation and child care difficulties, and face economic barriers to accessing medical care and other needs.
Supporters also argued that the bill was discriminatory, singling out abortion care for requirements and waiting periods.
“The state-mandated 24-hour waiting period will harm patients by creating additional barriers to care and increasing the cost of the procedure,” Jaime Miracle, deputy director of the abortion rights group Abortion Forward, said in a statement after Wednesday’s hearing.
“For the anti-abortion members of this Legislature, this is a feature, not a flaw.”
The group said HB 347 violates the constitution in numerous ways.
They said it “directly burdens and interferes with an individual’s voluntary exercise of the right to abortion,” discriminates against abortion care and providers, and goes beyond the constitutional provision that requires the state to impose only “the least restrictive measures to improve an individual’s health in accordance with widely accepted and evidence-based standards of care.”
A lawsuit challenging the previous 24-hour waiting period law was temporarily blocked by a Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge, who also halted the requirement for patients to complete at least two in-person visits.
In suspending the adoption of the bill, the judges cited the amendment to the constitution, calling the language of the amendment “easily understandable and clear.”
According to the Franklin County court schedule, the lawsuit is expected to be resolved at least later this year.
The bill will now go to a full vote in the Ohio House of Representatives before moving to the Ohio Senate for committee consideration and a potential vote.
The House did not adopt this resolution during Wednesday’s session, so the bill will be put to a vote at least until next week.
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