Planned Parenthood to start to offer same-day abortions in Ohio after court ruling

Planned Parenthood will begin phasing in same-day abortion services in Ohio Tuesday after a Franklin County judge temporarily blocked the state's mandatory 24-hour waiting period.

While same-day abortion services will not start immediately, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio said that clinics across the state will become operational in the coming weeks.

In November 2023, Ohioans approved a constitutional amendment that guaranteed access to abortion, as well as other reproductive rights, in the state. But state laws such as the mandatory waiting period after a patient's initial appointment remained on the books.

Attorneys sued to block those policies, which includes a requirement that doctors give patients state-approved information that the attorneys say goes beyond informed consent and can be stigmatizing and misleading.

More: Ohio's 24-hour waiting law for abortions is put on hold

Last week, Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge David Young wrote in his decision that the language approved by Ohio voters in November's is clear, unambiguous and "a person's right to reproductive freedom is now enshrined in the Ohio Constitution."

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office, which maintains that the waiting period is meant to make sure the patient is fully informed, said they plan to appeal the decision.

Samantha Hendrickson is The Dispatch's medical business and health care reporter. She can be reached at shendrickson@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Planned Parenthood to start to offer same-day abortions in Ohio after court ruling