{"id":375597,"date":"2025-08-05T14:24:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T19:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/state\/ohio-law\/ohio-abortion-laws.html"},"modified":"2025-08-05T14:24:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T19:24:00","slug":"ohio-abortion-laws","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/state\/ohio-law\/ohio-abortion-laws.html","title":{"rendered":"Ohio Abortion Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Ohio Abortion Laws<\/h1>\n
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\n By John Mascolo, Esq.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by FindLaw Staff<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

Abortion is legal in Ohio until fetal viability. After viability, the state may prohibit abortion unless a physician finds that it is necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient.<\/p>\r\n

Ohio Abortion Laws After <\/b>Dobbs<\/i><\/h2>\r\n

The issue of abortion rights<\/a> in the U.S. is quite controversial, with passionate advocates on both sides of the issue. Pro-choice advocates, including Planned Parenthood, focus on a patient’s autonomy to make important decisions about reproductive health care without state interference. Anti-abortion advocates claim that human life begins at conception and that abortion should be restricted if not outright prohibited.<\/p>\r\n

In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court stepped into the fray in Roe v. Wade<\/i><\/a>. The historic case concluded that the U.S. Constitution contains a right to privacy. This included the decision to carry a pregnancy to term or to have an abortion. The Court’s 7-2 majority decision in Roe<\/i> protected the right to abortion until fetal viability. Abortion retained legal protections when necessary to protect the patient’s life or health.<\/p>\r\n

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed course in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization<\/i><\/a>. The Court’s 6-3 majority overturned decades of precedent. The ruling held that there was no constitutional right to abortion under federal law. This sent the issue of abortion regulation back to the states and gave them the ability to prohibit abortion.<\/p>\r\n

When Dobbs<\/i> became the law of the land, Ohio had a "fetal heartbeat" law on the books. This trigger law prohibited almost all abortions upon alleged detection of "cardiac activity" in the fetus at six weeks. The law had been blocked in the courts before Dobbs<\/i>. It took effect after Dobbs,<\/i> but another court injunction blocked it later in the year. <\/p>\r\n

On November 7, 2023, Ohioans voted and approved Issue 1<\/a>, a state constitutional amendment creating a right to abortion until fetal viability. Thereafter, the state can restrict abortion rights, with an exception for the life or health of the pregnant patient. The fetal heartbeat law remains blocked and unenforceable due to the protections established by the 2023 state constitutional amendment.<\/p>\r\n

Ohio Abortion Laws: The Basics<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

The Republican Party has dominated state politics for several years in Ohio. It maintains a super-majority in the Ohio state legislature. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine<\/a> and Attorney General Dave Yost are also longtime Republican officials who oppose legal abortion.<\/p>\r\n

At the time of the Dobbs<\/i> ruling, Ohio had several laws restricting abortion on the books. Multiple abortion bans had been blocked in Ohio courts before Dobbs<\/i>. The state’s most recent abortion law was the fetal heartbeat law passed in 2019. This law was initially blocked, became law after Dobbs<\/i> for a short period, then was blocked again in court.<\/p>\r\n

The fetal heartbeat law bans abortion at the detection of alleged "cardiac activity" in the fetus. It claims a heartbeat begins six weeks into a pregnancy. At this point, many women do not know they are pregnant. In addition, experts state that the fetal heart is not formed<\/a> at that time. The law contained no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.<\/p>\r\n

The leaders of the Ohio House, Ohio Senate, and the Governor all supported passage of the fetal heartbeat law. They opposed the 2023 referendum on abortion. A plan to increase the percentage of votes necessary to pass a constitutional amendment to 60% was defeated by Ohioans in a special election in August 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

Battles over abortion in Ohio played out in the November 2023 election. State Issue 1 sought to amend the state constitution and provide a constitutional right to reproductive freedom. Some 57% of Ohio voters approved the amendment.<\/p>\r\n

As a result, section 22 of Article 1 of the Ohio Constitution<\/a> now states that "every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions", including matters involving:<\/p>\r\n