Abortions in Ohio disrupted by ruling
Law’s effective date delayed to Sept. 22
By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU
Saturday, September 10, 2005
COLUMBUS — Women arriving for appointments at abortion clinics across Ohio yesterday found their procedures canceled or replaced with meetings with their doctors in the wake of a federal court ruling upholding the state’s 1998 abortion law.
By the end of the day, U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith in Cincinnati, who found the state law restricting abortions constitutional on Thursday, agreed to again delay the effective date of the law until 5 p.m. on Sept. 22.
The attorney for Cincinnati Women’s Services Inc., which filed the challenge, had asked for 30 days to give clinics a chance to adjust from the old rules to the new.
The law was signed seven years ago by then-Gov. George Voinovich, but it was delayed by litigation.
The law requires women seeking abortions to meet in person with doctors at least 24 hours before the procedure so they can be instructed on risks associated with abortions and to discuss alternatives. Information via telephone or video would no longer be acceptable.
The law also requires minors seeking abortions to obtain the consent of at least one parent, not simply put a parent on notice, before undergoing the procedure. It also makes it more difficult for a minor to “bypass” parental consent by alleging abuse in juvenile court.
“Ohio women were turned away from clinics without having received the abortion they had scheduled and are being forced to make an unnecessary second trip in the days ahead,” said Kellie Copeland, executive director of the National Abortion Rights Action League of Ohio.
“These women included a 16-year-old rape victim and low-income women who had traveled over two hours just to get to the clinic,” she said. The rape victim was accompanied by her parents to a clinic in Cleveland.
Between 1993 and 2003, the last year for which statistics were available, the number of abortions performed at Ohio clinics declined 15 percent from 41,673 to 35,319, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
The decline among Lucas County residents was a steeper 37 percent, from 2,478 to 1,566.
“The portion [of the law] dealing with in-person meetings with a physician 24 hours before the procedure will give a woman more information with which to make a decision,” said Mark Lally, legislative director for Ohio Right to Life.
“Being able to ask questions, rather than get a prerecorded message over the phone, brings the process of informed consent more in line with the standard informed consent in place for other medical procedures,” he said.
“We believe that the more information with which to make a decision before actually being in the room to have the abortion, the greater the chance she might decide to pursue other options,” he said.
Sue Postal, director of the Center for Choice near downtown Toledo, said the clinic complied with the law. She declined to estimate the number of appointments canceled.
“Put yourself in a situation where you needed to have surgery done, and you went or you called only to find there’s just one provider, and they’re 300 miles away, and you have to drive there just to be told X amount of information,” Ms. Postal said.
“We’re disappointed that once again legislators are making medical decisions for patients,” she said.
Gary Dougherty, executive director of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Ohio, said he heard no reports of a clinic defying the law. The northwest Ohio affiliate does not provide abortions.
Al Gerhardstein, the attorney who filed the challenge to the state’s 1998 abortion law, said a decision on whether to appeal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and seek to extend the temporary stay will be made next week.
“This has created problems by having the order effective immediately,” he said. “Minors have already received bypass rulings from juvenile courts under the old law. We need 30 days to get everything in order.”
But Attorney General Jim Petro’s office argued that judicial bypass orders for minors issued under the old law are still valid under the new one.
“Defendants are sympathetic to patient concerns, even if those concerns are caused by the clinics’ failure to plan, but even those concerns are no reason to delay,” he wrote.
Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com or 614-221-0496.
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