(The Center Square) – Saying meaning must be given to the voice of Ohio voters, a Cincinnati judge permanently declared the state’s six-week abortion ban law unconstitutional.
Late Thursday, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins struck down the Heartbeat Act, ruling it violates Issue 1, which Ohio voters approved nearly a year ago to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution.
The ruling is the first permanent injunction coming after voters overwhelmingly approved adding reproductive rights – including the right to have an abortion – in the state’s constitution in November 2023 , with nearly 60% voting in favor of the new amendment.
At the time, Ohio became the seventh state to protect abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
It’s also the first permanent injunction in the country after passage of a abortion-rights ballot amendment.
“Ohio voters have spoken. The Ohio Constitution now unequivocally protects the right to abortion,” the ruling reads. “To give meaning to the voice of Ohio’s voters, the amendment must be given full effect, and laws such as those enacted [the act] must be permanently enjoined.”