COLUMBUS, Ohio — On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a Louisiana law that would have left the state with only one abortion clinic is unconstitutional.
While the ruling is specifically in reference to a Louisiana law, it could have ripple effects here in Ohio.
Chief Justice John Roberts said that admitting privileges could differ from state to state and that may prompt other states to try and challenge the ruling.
Ohio law requires abortion clinics to have transfer agreements with nearby hospitals in case of emergencies. If not, they need an exception, called a variance from the state health director.
The SCOTUS decision does not strike down Ohio’s law.
Kelley Fox, a faith organizer from Ohio Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, a pro-rights group, says she was excited to hear about the ruling, but does not think it goes far enough to help the community.
Also, she thinks Ohio’s lawmakers better take this ruling into account in the future.
“I’m hoping that this decision will show lawmakers that, you know, it’s time to stop trying to attack our abortion access and our rights for reproductive healthcare and it’s actually time to start doing some supportive things and giving people the healthcare that they deserve.”
Meanwhile, a pro-life Group here in Ohio, Citizens for Community Values, was not happy about the court’s ruling, citing more than 60 million lives that have been lost to abortion.
CCV’s Legal Counsel sent Spectrum News 1 a statement basically saying the Supreme Court overstepped its bounds with this decision.
Part of the statement reads:
“Women deserve better. Unborn children deserve better. Voters deserve better. And our Constitution deserves better than a Chief Justice and a Supreme Court that undermines the foundational principles that our nation was founded on: separation of powers and government of the people.”
Because Chief Justice Roberts joined the majority in precedent only, from his ruling in a similar case in Texas, there could be challenges from other states about their abortion laws.
If that happens, the Religious Coalition group said “that just means that we have to keep fighting and we have to keep doing all the work that we’ve been doing so far and keep trying to protect our abortion rights.”