A lawsuit was filed by abortion providers and advocacy groups in Ohio on March 9 over Senate Bill 27, which requires the cremation or burial of fetal remains from women who have received surgical abortions and goes into effect on April 6.
The plaintiffs filed suit against the Ohio Department of Health in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, asking for a court order that abortion providers in Ohio will not be penalized by the law until the Ohio Department of Health establishes rules and regulations for the law.
“The absence of regulations leaves Ohio abortion providers in an impossible situation that we did not ask for or create,” representatives of the plaintiffs said in a statement. “We file this complaint to ensure that we are not vulnerable to severe sanctions, fines and penalties, including potential license revocation, during this interim period.”
The Ohio Department of Health must adopt rules and forms that are required by the state to perform a surgical abortion within 90 days after April 6, according to the complaint.
Even though misdemeanor penalties do not apply until the date the health department starts implementing rules, abortion providers could still incur non-criminal sanctions before the rules are implemented, according to the complaint.
“The absence of forms thus leaves Ohio abortion providers in an impossible situation: if they continue to provide procedural abortions after April 5, notwithstanding SB27’s requirements, they face loss of their professional and facility licenses, civil suits, and civil penalties up to $250,000,” the plaintiff’s complaint reads.
Abortion providers have tried contacting the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in order to seek assurance they will not be penalized during the interim period and received none, according to the complaint.
Abortion providers believe they will have to stop scheduling and performing surgical abortions by April 6 unless the court grants a restraining order, according to the complaint.
“We simply want reassurance that we won’t be punished for our inability to comply with a directive that doesn’t exist,” representatives of the plaintiffs said in a statement. “Abortion is essential healthcare and our primary focus remains on the health and safety of our patients,” the plaintiffs said in a statement.
Pro-life advocates in Ohio however, believe that this law is an important step toward respecting and protecting all human life under the law.
“The abortion industry's desire to deny the innocent unborn even the right to a proper burial reveals where their allegiances lie: not with basic decency, but with their bottom line,” Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, said in a press release. “Regardless of all obstacles thrown in our way, Pro-Life Ohio will never cease our advocacy until the dignity of every precious and irreplaceable human life is both respected and protected under law."
Chase Conklin, a junior studying environmental geography and president of Ohio University College Republicans, has general opinions on the direction he believes abortion legislation in Ohio should be going.
“If it is another step to trying to get rid of abortion, I am for it, but of course, we have to be mindful of those that need it medically and those and other similar situations,” Conklin said. “So, when it comes to (this) act, I think it is trying to limit abortion, but I do not know specifically if that is the right path to be taking.”
Evelyn Potter, a freshman studying biochemistry, thinks the law is about politics more than anything.
“It really does nothing to save the lives of women, and actually, for that matter...it doesn’t do anything to save the life of the fetus either,” Potter said. “In my opinion, it’s just kind of a political tactic to try and appease both sides, and…I think that it targets the poor specifically.”
Mady Nutter, a junior studying strategic communication and political director of OU College Democrats, believes abortion providers having to file those types of lawsuits prevents them from doing their jobs.
“Abortion restrictions such as this law not only make it harder for pregnant people to get abortions, but it also makes it harder for abortion providers to give their patients care, keep their clinics open and avoid law suits for simply doing their job,” Nutter said in an email. “People who have abortions should get to decide what happens to their bodies and their fetal remains.”
Abortion is continuing to be debated by politicians and people in Ohio as new abortion laws, like Senate Bill 27, are passed.
“What extent to take (abortion laws) and still try to keep America's freedom aspects — that is always the challenging debate, and that is why this debate is going to be going on for our lives, our entire lives,” Conklin said.
