Facts of Life: OHIO LAWS

LATE-TERM ABORTION

Abortions are legal in Ohio through the point of viability. In 2011 Governor Kasich signed into law (O.R.C. 2919.17, 2919.171, 2919.18) the Late-Term Abortion Ban. This law mandates that all abortionists who intend to perform an abortion on pre-born babies that are 20 weeks gestation or older must first perform a test of viability. If the pre-born baby is deemed viable abortion would be illegal.

On June 28, 2004, Ohio became the first state to have a ban on partial-birth abortions go into effect since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Nebraska’s ban in 2000. In May of 2000, Governor Taft signed a new law passed by the Ohio legislature. On December 17, 2003, the majority of a 3-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reversed a district court ruling and held that this statute was constitutional (Women’s Medical Professional Corp. v. Taft, 353 F.3d 436). The full 6th Circuit denied a petition to rehear the case and the law went into effect when the plaintiffs decided not to appeal to the Supreme Court. Ohio’s law does include a health exception approved by the Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and it does define partial-birth abortion more narrowly than the Nebraska law which was struck down in 2000. Ohio was the first state to pass a ban on partial-birth abortions in 1995, but that law was declared unconstitutional by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 1997.

 (President George W. Bush signed a federal ban on partial birth abortion in 2003 which was ultimately held up by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2007 (Gonzales vs. Carhart), making the procedure illegal in all 50 states.)

An unemancipated minor under 18 may not obtain an abortion unless one of her parents or her guardian has given written consent or she obtains a court order. (The provisions of this parental consent statute are now in effect, except for a section preventing additional judicial bypass requests after a first request had been denied, which was held unconstitutional by a panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in November 2006 in Cincinnati Women’s Services v. Taft, Case No. 05-4174.)

November—2011—Governor Kasich signed House Bill 63 (O.R.C. 2919.121) to protect minors and their
unborn children by closing loopholes and raised the bar to protect parents' ability to care for their
children. Formerly, Ohio law stated that parental consent is required before a minor can obtain an
abortion, but a loophole existed which allowed judges to bypass parental involvement and permit a
minor to obtain an abortion. H.B. 63 put an end to this "rubber-stamp" judicial approval.

It is the public policy of the state of Ohio to prefer childbirth over abortion to the extent that is constitutionally permissible.

SAFE HAVEN LAW 

O.R.C. 2151.3515, 2151.3516
Mothers may legally leave their baby who is thirty days or younger with any of the following people: law enforcement agency officer, a hospital worker, or an emergency medical services provider.

No person may be required to participate in medical procedures which result in abortion.

Prohibits purposely taking the life of or not taking measures required by medical judgment to preserve the life of a child who is alive when removed from the woman’s uterus.

FETAL HOMICIDE

O.R.C. 2903.01

All of Ohio’s homicide and assault statutes prohibit actions which kill or injure another person’s unborn child at any stage of pregnancy. There are exceptions for legal abortions and actions by the mother.

PUBLIC FUNDING

Public Funding for Abortion

O.R.C. 124.85  Prohibits the use of tax money to pay for state and local government employees’ insurance coverage for nontherapeutic abortions. (O.R.C. 5101.56) State and local funds cannot be used for an abortion, except in the case of rape, incest, or to preserve the woman’s life.

O.R.C. 3702.33  State “genetic services” funds cannot be used to counsel or refer for an abortion, except in a medical emergency. (O.R.C. 3701.046) State “women health services” funds cannot be used to provide abortion services and cannot be used to counsel or refer for an abortion, except in a medical emergency. Programs that receive these funds must provide services that are physically and financially separate from abortion-providing and abortion-promoting activities.

On June 30, 2013, Governor Kasich signed into law the biannual budget which prevented two additional public funding streams from funding abortion. Planned Parenthood was “defunded” in that they were reprioritized to be the last entity to be considered for Family Planning Funds provided through the Ohio Department of Health, which are obtained from the Federal government (O.R.C. 3701.033, 5101.101, 5101.461). Additionally, a new funding stream for rape crisis centers was created through the Attorney General’s office (O.R.C. 109.921). Those funds are prohibited from being used to promote or refer for abortion.

O.R.C. 3901.87  Prohibits qualified health plans from providing coverage for nontherapeutic abortions.  These plans would include those created or made available through the State Health Insurance Exchange mandated by the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Public Funding for Life-Affirming Services

(O.R.C. 3701.65) The Choose Life Fund provides eligible organizations with funding for the provision of services to pregnant women within the state of Ohio planning to place their children for adoption.
In 2013, a new funding stream for rape crisis centers was created through the Attorney General’s office (O.R.C. 109.921). Those funds are prohibited from being used to promote or refer for abortion.

Also signed into law with the 2013 budget was the Pregnancy and Parenting Support Program, a funding source for crisis pregnancy centers on a fee-for-service reimbursement basis (O.R.C. 3125.18, 5101.80, 5101.801, 5101.803, 5101.804). The amount was not set in law, therefore allowing the Governor’s office to administer as little or as much money as they wish. The program was modeled after Real Alternatives in Pennsylvania and the Texas Pregnancy Care Network in Texas.

The Maternal Opiate Medical Support Project, a three year program, provides 4.2 million dollars to improve the health of mothers and newborns with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. (2013)

MEDICAID FUNDING OF ABORTION 

O.R.C. 5160-17
As is the federal standard, Ohio allows medicaid funding for abortions only in the case of endangerment of the life of the mother, or the pregnancy being the result of rape or incest. This means that state and federal matching Medicaid funds can be used in those situations detailed above.

Abortion is the practice of medicine or surgery for purposes of O.R.C. 4731.41, which means that only licensed physicians may perform abortions. Nurses (O.R.C. 4723.28) and physician assistants (O.R.C. 4730.25) are prohibited from “prescribing any drug or device to perform or induce an abortion, or otherwise performing or inducing an abortion”.

PARENTAGE OF DONATED EMBRYOS

O.R.C. 3111.97
This law states that the woman who gives birth to a child via a donated embryo is treated as the natural mother of that child.

Prohibits experimenting on or selling the “product of conception” which is aborted. The sale of “baby parts” is thus prohibited in Ohio.

POST-ABORTION PROCEDURES

Admin. Code 3701-47-05

Requires the humane disposal of “products of conception.”

FETAL DEATH CERTIFICATE

O.R.C. 3705.20

Under the Grieving Parents Act, passed in 2008, a fetal death certificate and burial can be permitted by
the state in the case of the death of an unborn baby.

FORCED ABORTION

O.R.C. 2701.15:  Prohibits any court from ordering a woman to have an abortion. O.R.C. 5101.55:  No person may be ordered to obtain an abortion by any public agency. Refusal to obtain an abortion cannot be used to cause the loss of public assistance or other rights or privileges.

O.R.C. 3701.791:  Requires abortion facilities to post a “No One Can Force You to Have an Abortion” notice that informs women not to sign a consent form and to tell clinic personnel if they are being coerced.

Requires filing a confidential report on each abortion with the Ohio Department of Health which uses the information to produce an annual statistical report.

WRONGFUL BIRTH AND WRONGFUL LIFE

O.R.C. 2305.116

Prohibits “wrongful birth” and “wrongful life” lawsuits which are medical claims that allege that a child with a disability would have been aborted rather than born if a medical professional had discovered the disability and informed the parents.

Creates state criminal penalty for providing RU-486 (mifepristone) to another to induce an abortion without complying with the requirements of federal law governing RU-486. (This law is currently being challenged in the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.)

UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD

O.R.C. 2108.62

Requires the Ohio Department of Health to place printable information on umbilical cord blood
banking and donation on its website. The Department of Health also will encourage healthcare
professionals to provide the information to pregnant women. Umbilical cord blood is an ethical source
of stem cells obtained with no risk to the

CLINIC REGULATIONS

Admin. Code sections 3701-83-01 to 22 

The Ohio Department of Health rules regarding “Ambulatory Surgical Facilities” create personnel and staffing requirements, service standards including informed consent, building and site requirements, medical records requirements and allow inspections. (Admin. Code section 3701-47) Public Health Council regulations cover human fetal disposal and post-abortion procedures which only apply to abortions performed after 14 weeks. Additional regulations were put into place in 2013 to hold Ambulatory Surgical Facilities accountable to standard health and safety regulations. (O.R.C. 3702.303) Taxpayer-funded hospitals may not provide transfer agreements with abortion facilities. ASFs must secure a transfer agreement with a local hospital which is within 30 miles of their location.

ASSISTED SUICIDE

O.R.C. 3795.01, 3795.02, 3795.03

Under a law which became effective on March 24, 2003, assisting a suicide is against the public policy of Ohio. An injunction may be issued against any person who is preparing to assist a suicide, in the course of assisting a suicide or who has assisted a suicide. Currently, no criminal charge is associated with assisting suicide.

POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR HEALTH CARE

O.R.C. 1337.11 – 1337.17
Ohio has a durable power of attorney for health care law, which permits an individual to appoint another person to make medical decisions in the event the patient is unable to do so.

Information about Ohio laws courtesy of Ohio Right to Life.