The Ohio Supreme Court declined to take up a case that challenged the state’s new reproductive rights constitutional amendment. But supporters and opponents of the amendment agree on one thing; it’s not the end for lawsuits related to the 2023 voter-approved constitutional change.
The court's six Republicans and one Democrat dismissed the lawsuit filed by Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations/Juvenile Divisions Judge David Engler. The Republican judge, who was elected to the court in 2024, claimed the amendment approved the year before took away his authority the parental notification provision for minors seeking abortions. He had sued two statewide officials, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and former Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, in lower courts. Engler said those two Republican leaders approved flawed ballot language. Yost and LaRose asked the Ohio Supreme Court to dismiss the case, arguing Engler didn’t have standing and had waited too long to file the case anyway.
Ohio Right to Life Board member Mike Gonidakis said he’s not surprised the court didn’t take up the case.
“it was dismissed on procedural grounds, not on the merits of his arguments, not on the debate that we've been having for decades in Ohio, but the way it was filed and the person [who] filed the case," Gonidakis said in an interview.
“This case was ridiculous from the beginning," said Abortion Forward Executive Director Jaime Miracle. "And this court saw just how ridiculous it was and recognized for once that the Ohio constitution protects these rights and should not be challenged by other elected officials in our state.”
Lawsuits still remain over the reproductive rights amendment
A lawsuit filed in Butler County is still pending, filed by anti-abortion activists who said the amendment it illegally modified multiple sections of state law. The group Faith2Action, led by former Ohio Right to Life leader Janet Folger Porter, is backing the case, along with Reps. Levi Dean (R-Xenia) and Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester).
There are also lawsuits filed by supporters of abortion rights that are making their way through the court system. One affects the state’s 24-hour waiting period, a ban on prescribing abortion medication via telehealth, and a requirement to bury or cremate fetal tissue following an abortion. Gonidakis said those will give the court an opportunity to further interpret the amendment.
“The job of the court will be not to strip something out or put something into the state constitution because clearly they lack that authority," Gonidakis said. "What they can do is decipher and determine what all these words mean, how far can the legislature go or not go based on the words that were voted on and approved by the voters. That's what we're looking—for a roadmap and clarity, so moving forward we can identify ways to save lives in Ohio.”
Ohio's ban on abortion after six weeks, which was one of the most restrictive in the country when it went into effect briefly in 2022, was put on hold permanently in October after a Hamilton County judge struck it down as unconstitutional. It isn't expected to get to the high court.
Miracle also agrees with Gonidakis on the significance of abortion-related lawsuits getting to the Ohio Supreme Court: “And what this really just shows is how important who is on the court is for the future of the reproductive freedom amendment.”
Republican Justice Dan Hawkins and Democratic Justice Jennifer Brunner are both up for re-election. Hawkins is running against First District Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Zayas, and Brunner is facing former Franklin County and immigration judge Colleen O'Donnell. Hawkins is seeking his first full term, after he was elected in 2024 to serve out the rest of Republican Joe Deters' term when on the same ballot, Deters unseated his Democratic colleague on the bench, Melody Stewart. Brunner is the only Democrat in elected statewide office in Ohio.
