A federal judge has blocked part of an Ohio law that bans the abortion method of dilation and evacuation in most cases.
Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett in Cincinnati ordered the state Thursday not to bring criminal charges against doctors who perform the procedure until the case can be litigated. Other parts of the law were allowed to proceed. Barrett agreed with Planned Parenthood the law is likely to be declared unconstitutional because it places an undue burden on Ohio women. D&E's are the most common second-trimester abortion procedure. The judge said women don't have any legal abortion alternative at that stage in pregnancy that doesn't "layer risks on top of existing risks." The ruling comes a week after a separate heartbeat abortion ban was signed into Ohio law.
