A federal judge in Cincinnati has temporarily blocked Ohio's so-called "Heart Beat Bill" which bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected.
U. S. District Judge Michael Barrett wrote that the law signed by the governor in April and was supposed to go into effect next week places an "undue burden" on a woman's right to choose a pre-viability abortion. According to an attorney from the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, 90% of abortions in Ohio are performed at or after six weeks gestation.
Under the law, which Governor DeWine vigorously supported, a medical professional who preformed an abortion after dedecting a heartbeat - or failed to ascertain if there is a heartbeat - would face a fifthdegree felony, up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Ohio's Attorney General Dave Yost says that the judge's ruling was expected.
Today's ruling means that clinics that provide abortions will be able to continue to operate while litgation continues.
