COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Supreme Court has dismissed the state's challenge to a judge's order that has blocked enforcement of Ohio's near-ban on abortions for the past 14 months. The ruling has now shifted action in the case back to Hamilton County Common Pleas, where abortion clinics recently requested Judge Christian Jenkins to throw out the law after Ohio voters' decision to protect abortion rights in the state constitution.

In March, the justices agreed to review a county judge's order that halted the enforcement of the abortion restriction and to determine if the clinics had the legal standing to challenge the law. However, they denied Republican Attorney General Dave Yost's request to launch their own review of the constitutional right to abortion, deferring the arguments to a lower court.

On Thursday, the clinics urged Judge Jenkins to permanently block the abortion ban, following the amendment approved by Ohio voters last month that guarantees access to abortion and other reproductive health care.

The law, signed by Republican Governor Mike DeWine in April 2019, aimed to prohibit most abortions after the first detectable "fetal heartbeat," which can occur as early as six weeks into pregnancy. However, it was initially blocked through a federal legal challenge and briefly took effect when the landmark Roe v. Wade decision was overturned last year. The ban was then put on hold in the county court as part of a subsequent lawsuit, challenging it as unconstitutional under the state constitution.

In a statement issued on December 7, Yost's office reiterated the state's readiness to acknowledge the people's will on the matter and expressed the intent to carefully review each aspect of the law for a peaceful resolution of the case.

The abortion providers have requested that the lower court, which initially suspended the ban, permanently invalidate it. They relied on Yost's own legal analysis, circulated before the vote, which stated that the passage of the amendment would render Ohio's six-week ban invalid. According to the analysis, "Ohio would no longer have the ability to limit abortions at any time before a fetus is viable."

The timing of Ohio's new abortion protections remains uncertain due to the pending lawsuits. As the case returns to Hamilton County Common Pleas, all eyes now turn to Judge Jenkins as both the clinics and the state seek a resolution in this contentious debate surrounding reproductive rights.

Overall, the recent developments underscore the ongoing battle in Ohio regarding abortion regulations and the significant role that courts continue to play in shaping the landscape of reproductive rights in the state.