Ohio won’t pass abortion ban until after U.S. Supreme Court decision

Sen. Matt Huffman, R-Lima.
Sen. Matt Huffman, R-Lima.
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State Senate President Matt Huffman wants to wait until after the U.S. Supreme Court releases its decision before passing an abortion ban in Ohio.

A leaked draft opinion indicated the Court would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade, sending decisions about abortion access back to state lawmakers. But the final decision hasn't been released. That's expected in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers are pushing bills to ban abortions if the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately rules that way. The proposals are called "trigger bans" because they are triggered by either a court decision or a constitutional amendment to strip away federal protections for accessing abortions.

But Huffman, R-Lima, would rather wait until the decision is released than push through a bill before the Ohio Legislature leaves for several months.

"I want it to be something that is sculpted constitutionally, and we don't know really what the decision is going to say," Huffman said. "I think it (an abortion ban) will pass. I think a substantial number of our caucus will support it. I just don't know whether we can ascertain all of that in the next two weeks."

House Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, didn't say when his chamber planned to pass its trigger ban, House Bill 598. "We're having discussions about how to handle that appropriately."

Huffman said he's been waiting for an end to Roe v. Wade for decades, volunteering at a pregnancy help center that his mother founded to offer alternatives to abortion. "It's something that a lot of us have been waiting to happen."

But the leaked decision doesn't mean it will. "The draft decision in my mind didn't change anything because it's sort of like seeing a note from one person to another saying, 'How about if we do it this way?'" Huffman said.

Huffman said lawmakers could return to Columbus to pass an abortion ban crafted off the U.S. Supreme Court decision this summer. If not, lawmakers aren't slated to return until after the Nov. 8 election.

About 20,600 abortions were performed in Ohio in 2020, according to state data.

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Abortion: Ohio to hold off on trigger ban law