COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has taken a formal step to appeal a Cincinnati judge’s recent order pausing the state’s “heartbeat” abortion law that bans abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy.
In a news release on Wednesday, a Yost spokesperson said the attorney general’s office, after consulting with Gov. Mike DeWine, had filed a notice of appeal on Wednesday with the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.
Yost’s office plans to file a document laying out the legal arguments behind their appeal sometime after the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court officially accepts their notice of appeal, according to a spokesperson.
Both DeWine and Yost are Republicans.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Christian Jenkins, a Democrat, last Friday issued what’s called a preliminary injunction, blocking the “heartbeat” law from taking effect until a trial can be held determining whether it violates the state constitution. Court records show a written order formalizing Jenkins’s preliminary injunction was filed Wednesday.
While the preliminary injunction is in place, Ohio reverts to previous law that made abortion legal up until 22 weeks into pregnancy.
The preliminary injunction, which applies indefinitely, was a victory for a group of abortion providers, including Preterm Cleveland, that sued over the law last month. If and when Yost files the appeal, the case would be reviewed by the state’s First District Court of Appeals, where Democrats hold a majority.
The case is likely to eventually make its way to the GOP-controlled Ohio Supreme Court, where three seats are up for grabs in the November election.
Ohio’s “heartbeat” law, which bans abortions after fetal cardiac activity can be detected, went into effect in late June shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, striking down nationwide legal protections.
DeWine signed the law shortly after taking office in January 2019, but it was held up in federal court for years. It went into effect immediately following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, but was paused again last month as a result of the Hamilton County lawsuit.