After having been rebuked on another of his abortion rulings, last Thursday a federal judge issued a partial injunction blocking Ohio’s ban on the dismemberment of living unborn babies from being implemented.
“Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett in Cincinnati ordered the state not to bring criminal charges against doctors who perform the D&E procedure until the case can be fully litigated,” The Associated Press’s Julie Carr Smyth reported. “Other parts of the law were allowed to proceed.”
Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, told Smyth, “This judge was just soundly rejected by the Sixth Circuit,” adding, “I am confident his actions today will be rejected yet again.”
Mr. Gonidakis was referring to a decision by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upholding an Ohio law that made entities that perform or promote abortions, such as Planned Parenthood, ineligible to participate in six state-funded health programs. The 11-6 decision, written by Judge Jeffrey Sutton, overturned an April 2018 decision by a three-judge panel of the same circuit that had upheld a 2016 decision by Judge Barrett striking down the law.
Smyth wrote, “In Thursday’s ruling, Barrett agreed with Planned Parenthood the law is likely to be declared unconstitutional because it places an undue burden on a ‘large fraction’ of Ohio women.” The law was to in effect Friday. Barrett’s order lasts 14 days.
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As NRL News Today reported, former Gov. John Kasich signed the Dismemberment Abortion Ban in December 2018. S.B.145 enjoyed widespread support in the legislature– in the House (62-27] and the Senate (23-9).
This law “would prohibit the barbaric dismemberment abortion procedure, in which an abortionist first dilates the woman’s cervix, and then uses steel instruments to dismember the living, unborn baby,” Gonidakis said, “It’s hard to imagine how Planned Parenthood could be in support of a procedure which allows living unborn babies to be ripped limb from limb.”
Ohio is one of eleven states that ban this particularly barbaric abortion technique, In chronological order, the other ten are 1.) Kansas (2015) 2. Oklahoma (2015) 3. West Virginia (2016) 4. Mississippi (2016) 5. Alabama (2016) 6. Louisiana (2016) 7. Arkansas (2017) 8. Texas (2017) 9. Kentucky (2018) 10. North Dakota. For more detail, go the NRLC’s State Legislation page.
