Supreme Court ruling marks new phase of Ohio abortion battle: wait and see

Jun. 30--Ohio advocates for abortion access are celebrating a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that would have closed nearly every abortion clinic in Louisiana, but they say it won't have any immediate effect in Ohio as the nation awaits a decision in cases intended to topple Roe vs. Wade.

In a 5-4 decision Monday, the court ruled the Louisiana law that required doctors who perform abortions hold admitting privileges at nearby hospitals violated the right to an abortion established in the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case.

Ohio does not have the same law regarding hospital admitting privileges. But state law requires surgical abortion providers to maintain a transfer agreement with local hospitals in the event of a medical complication, a regulation that activists argue is unnecessary and designed to curb access to the procedure.

The court's ruling won't impact existing Ohio laws, but it could be used to reaffirm a challenge to Ohio's transfer-agreement rule, said Gabriel Mann, spokesman for NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio. A challenge to that law is pending in federal court.

In 2018, northwest Ohio's last abortion clinic, Capital Care Network of Toledo, nearly lost the ability to perform surgical abortions until it secured a transfer agreement with ProMedica Toledo Hospital. The clinic, however, gave up its surgical license in September, 2019 following a change of ownership, but continues to offer medication abortions.

Capital Care is one of 12 abortion clinics left in Ohio, and one of three that offer the medication procedure only.

Amid the racial reckoning ignited by the police killing of George Floyd, Ohio abortion-rights advocates argued the state's restrictive abortion laws disproportionately harm people of color.

"Now is the time for our state leaders to make bold changes in the way health care is delivered, health care access is supported, and communities are policed to start breaking down the structures of racism that have formed the foundation of so many of the policies in our state and nation," said Sha'Tisha Young of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio's Digital Organizing Council.

Monday's decision was the first ruling on abortion with two new justices appointed by President Trump, who continues to hammer his record on conservative judges in his bid for re-election.

The Trump campaign used the court's decision in a renewed appeal to conservative religious voters.

"This case underscores the importance of re-electing President Trump, who has a record of appointing conservative judges, rather than Joe Biden, who will appoint radical, activist judges who will legislate from the courts," said Ali Pardo, the campaign's deputy communications director.

Supreme Court observers are considering whether the ruling on the Louisiana law, which was nearly identical to a Texas law the court struck down in 2016, offers insight about how the court might view a challenge to Roe vs. Wade.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who dissented in the 2016 Texas case, sided with the court's four liberal justices, but did not sign onto their legal reasoning. In a separate opinion, he wrote the court's decision should uphold the earlier ruling.

In 2020, the court is expected to rule on cases challenging the constitutionality of Roe vs. Wade, including Ohio's 2019 "heartbeat" anti-abortion law, which bans the procedure as early as six weeks into pregnancy, the points at which a fetal heartbeat becomes detectable.

The law hasn't gone into effect while it's pending in federal court. In the meantime, GOP lawmakers have proposed even more restrictive abortion regulations, including mandating a nonexistent procedure to replant ectopic pregnancies.

"Systemic attacks on abortion have impacted the number of clinics open across Ohio and the country, and these attacks will not stop with today's ruling," said Tam Nickerson, the clinical services director at Preterm, a plaintiff in the heartbeat lawsuit. "Ohio politicians are considering many anti-abortion measures in session right now. Fortunately, today's ruling will allow us to continue serving our patients and fighting for a world where abortion and reproductive healthcare access are even more available without shame or stigma."

With a new conservative-leaning Supreme Court majority, the heartbeat law's backers hope Ohio's case is the one that brings down Roe vs. Wade, following a year when state legislatures passed similar laws that have largely been tied up in the courts. But they acknowledge their best hope is with Mr. Trump in the White House.

"With the Supreme Court's ruling today one thing has become abundantly clear: to further protect life, it is imperative that we vote our pro-life values in November," said Mike Gonidakis, Ohio Right to Life president. "We must never stop working to instill a culture of life in our nation and re-electing President Trump and other strong pro-life leaders is our best path forward."

Abortion-rights supporters are cautious about reading too much into the decision.

Planned Parenthood leaders in Ohio called it a "victory for reproductive freedom, but the fight for access to health care is far from over."

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