ACLU Asks Court to Stop State’s Delay Tactics in Abortion Access Case

CLEVELAND—The ACLU of Ohio filed a motion today opposing a request by the state of Ohio to delay a decision in a case concerning abortion restrictions passed by the legislature in 2013. The ACLU is asking the court to rule on its challenge that the use of a state budget bill to restrict access to reproductive health services violates the One-Subject rule under the Ohio Constitution.

“As this case stretches into its third year, the state is using every tool it can find to needlessly prolong the process,” said Christine Link, executive director of the ACLU of Ohio. “Since the beginning, this has been a case about good government. From the legislature’s secretive, last minute insertion of these abortion restrictions into a 3,000 page budget bill, to its legal strategy of unending delays and obstruction, this is not how any of our branches of government should function. We are asking that the court reject further delays and rule on the merits of our case.”

Read the ACLU of Ohio Response to Motion to Stay.

Last month the 8

District Court of Appeals ruled that the ACLU’s client, Preterm Cleveland, could challenge the use of a state budget bill to pass restrictions on reproductive health services. This ruling sent the case back to the lower court for a decision on the merits of its arguments. The state has now asked that the lower court wait to decide this case while the state considers whether to pursue an appeal of the 8

District decision.

“While the state has been dragging out this process, other courts have issued rulings that affirm our claims in the lawsuit. But despite the legal landscape shifting consistently in favor of our position, state officials have shown they will use whatever means available to push bad abortion policy,” Link said.

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