While courts and voters wait to decide the fate of the Ohio's six-week abortion ban, Cincinnati's Planned Parenthood says it's gearing up to take more patients as abortion becomes illegal in Indiana. With Ohio's so-called "heartbeat bill" on hold, abortion in the state currently is legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.
Indiana's Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a legal challenge to the state's near-total abortion ban. That means the state's law passed last year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade is in effect.
Many Hoosiers seeking the procedure will likely travel to Ohio, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Administrative Director of Surgery Vanessa Hinsdale says. That's a continuation of a trend since Roe fell, as residents of more restrictive states like Indiana and Kentucky have sought abortions here.
RELATED: Indiana's abortion ban takes effect after Supreme Court denies last-ditch effort to halt it
"We've become more of a safe-haven state for abortion access, and we have been increasing our staff," Hinsdale says. "As this continues, we will keep monitoring that and continuing to add staff and add hours. But you only have so many hours in a day and in a week."
In 2019, Ohio lawmakers passed a ban on abortions after six weeks that went into effect after the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision toppled Roe. But a Hamilton County judge issued an injunction keeping the law from going into effect last October. Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost appealed that decision, which the Ohio Supreme Court eventually took up in March. That legal battle could take a year. Meanwhile, Ohio voters will get a chance to weigh in during the November election, when an amendment enshrining the right to abortion in the Ohio constitution will be on the ballot.
Hinsdale says the added travel and Ohio's 24-hour waiting period will put a lot of strain on patients from other states like Indiana — especially those on a low income. But she says Planned Parenthood and other groups have funds available to help some seeking abortions.
RELATED: Abortion rights amendment could motivate young Ohio voters this November
"For a lot of patients, it comes down to work and childcare," she says. "It's really hard to go to your employer at the last minute and ask for two to three days off because you have to travel out of state for a doctor's appointment."