Ohio Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal, Leaving Abortion Ban Order in Place

The Ohio Supreme Court has dismissed the state's challenge to a judge's order that has blocked enforcement of Ohio's near-ban on abortions for the past 14 months. The ruling sends the case back to Hamilton County Common Pleas, where abortion clinics have asked a judge to permanently throw out the law following voters' decision to approve enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution. The ban, which prohibited most abortions after the first detectable "fetal heartbeat," was briefly in effect when the Roe v. Wade decision was overturned last year but was subsequently blocked and challenged as unconstitutional.