Judge blocks Ohio heartbeat bill

A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked an Ohio law protecting unborn babies with a detectable heartbeat. U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett ruled that abortion facilities would succeed in their lawsuit claiming the law is unconstitutional. “The law is well-settled that women possess a fundamental constitutional right of access to abortions,” he wrote.

The law, which Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, signed in April, would have effectively stopped abortions as early as six weeks into a woman’s pregnancy. A spokesman for the governor said DeWine believes the issue eventually will be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ohio Right to Life, the state’s largest pro-life organization, said the order was an expected disappointment. “The heartbeat bill has the potential to be the vehicle that overturns Roe v. Wade,” the group’s president, Mike Gonidakis, said in a statement. “We know that this temporary restraining order is just a step in the process to finally seeing Roe reconsidered.”