A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati on Monday unanimously ruled to uphold part of an Ohio abortion law (HB 421) that requires women to receive counseling prior to undergoing abortion and strike down another section of the law that would have given minors only one chance to seek judicial bypass to undergo an abortion without parental consent, the AP/Akron Beacon Journal reports (Cornwell, AP/Akron Beacon Journal, 11/13). The measure, which was passed in 1998, requires unmarried minors to obtain the consent of at least one parent before undergoing abortion and requires women seeking abortion to meet with a physician at least 24 hours before the procedure to hear a description of the process, its risks and alternatives. U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith in September 2005 ruled that the law was constitutional and would take effect immediately. Cincinnati Women's Services appealed Beckwith's decision to the 6th Circuit Court, which issued a temporary restraining order to block the enforcement of the law. The court in October 2005 ruled that parental consent and physician meeting requirements could be enforced by the state beginning Oct. 10, 2005, because Cincinnati Women's Services had not shown a likelihood of succeeding in its challenges to those provisions. The court also ruled that during the appeal the provision allowing minors one chance to seek judicial bypass could not be enforced (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/3).

Ruling
The 6th Circuit Court panel -- comprised of Judges R. Guy Cole, Julia Smith Gibbons and John Rogers -- ruled that the face-to-face meeting requirement does not place an undue burden on enough women to declare the law unconstitutional (Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer, 11/14). The ruling also said the regulation allowing minors one chance to seek judicial bypass breaches the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution and presents a considerable impediment to a minor's right to abortion. Al Gerhardstein, an attorney for Cincinnati Women's Services, lauded the parental consent decision, adding that the counseling requirement ruling is "unfortunate for women and a setback for reproductive health." Gerhardstein said a decision on whether to appeal the counseling requirement ruling has not been made (AP/Akron Beacon Journal, 11/13). Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro (R), whose staff argued to uphold the law, said, "We are pleased the courts upheld the most important provisions of this very reasonable law" (Cincinnati Enquirer, 11/14).