The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against Ohio after the new state budget enacted tighter abortion restrictions, Reuters reported.
The ACLU's Ohio branch decided to take Ohio to court in June on behalf of Preterm-Cleveland, Inc., a Cleveland women's health clinic that provides abortion services and contraception, on the grounds of the Ohio Constitution's "single subject" rule.
"To put it simply, none of these amendments have any place in the state budget bill," said Susan Scheutzow, an attorney for the ACLU. She also said the subject of the two-year, $62 billion state budget law was appropriation of funds for current government programs and obligations.
Jessie Hill, another attorney for the ACLU, called the amendments "highly controversial social legislation that were snuck into a must-pass budget bill in the eleventh hour without public debate or input."
One of the three amendments prohibits women from being transported from abortion clinics to public hospitals, even in case of a medical emergency, and specifically threatens Capital Care -- the sole abortion clinic in Toledo -- since they cannot renew their transfer agreement with an area hospital.
The additional amendments force clinics to make patients listen for a fetal heartbeat before receiving an abortion and create a "parenting and pregnancy" program to give state money to private groups that are not allowed to discuss abortion services, according to the ACLU.
The ACLU also argues the first and second amendments are unrelated to budget appropriations while the third specifically creates a new government program, which requires individual legislation.
In their lawsuit, they name Republican Gov. John R. Kasich, who signed the budget bill, the state of Ohio, Director of Ohio Department of Health Theodore Wymyslo, and others.
Kasich and the health department have not commented on the lawsuit.
Health department spokesman Robert Jennings claims Capital Care has asked for an administrative hearing and is still open.
