Cincinnati Reds Opening Day win highlighted by double-Martini, Frankie Montas start
POLITICS

Federal judge blocks Ohio's ban on abortions after Down syndrome diagnosis

Jessie Balmert
Cincinnati Enquirer
Emily Chestnut of Milford and her daughter Nora speak at a Feb. 15 press conference against a ban on abortion following a Down syndrome diagnosis.

COLUMBUS - A federal judge blocked a controversial Ohio law banning abortions after a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome. 

On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Black blocked Ohio's law from taking effect next week – calling it a privacy violation.

"It violates the right to privacy of every woman in Ohio and is unconstitutional on its face," Black wrote. 

The law, passed by Ohio's GOP-controlled Legislature and signed by Gov. John Kasich, would impose criminal penalties on doctors who perform abortions after learning that the fetus was diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Black's decision was in response to a lawsuit filed last month by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio on behalf of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, Cincinnati's Dr. Roslyn Kade and several other abortion clinics. They sued the Ohio Department of Health, state medical board and local prosecutors, including Hamilton County's Joe Deters. 

“This law is about restricting abortion, plain and simple,” said Jerry Lawson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio, in a statement.

Just a few other states have implemented similar laws. Indiana's was deemed unconstitutional as well. Black referenced the Indiana decision in his order.

Still, proponents of the law -- including Ohio Right to Life -- say it will save the lives of unborn children and prevent eugenics. 

They also questioned the judge's impartiality. Black, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, served as president and director of the Planned Parenthood Association of Cincinnati in the late 1980s. Both were unpaid positions. Black recused himself from a 2014 case involving Planned Parenthood. 

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said in a statement that he plans to appeal the judge's decision.

"I strongly disagree with the district court's ruling that there is a categorical right to abortion that prevents even any consideration of Ohio's profound interests in combating discrimination against a class of human beings based upon disability," DeWine said Thursday.