A Hamilton County Judge Alison Hatheway has put on hold the state’s new law that requires abortion providers to cremate or bury fetal remains. An attorney for the abortion clinics who brought the suit, Jessie Hill, says this law targets them.
“Although the state claims that this law is needed because embryos and fertilized eggs have dignity and need to be cremated or buried, it doesn’t apply to miscarriages or to IVF clinics who are exactly managing the same sorts of tissue,” Hill says.
This is the second time the court has blocked the law. Last spring, the judge then ruled Ohio Dept of Health hadn't provided rules and forms required to comply with the law and put it on hold. ODH has since supplied those. But in this ruling, the judge decided to continue providing relief for the state’s abortion providers until final judgment is entered in the case. And based on past cases, probably will be appealed to federal court or the Ohio Supreme Court.
