Ohio’s pro-abortion Reproductive Freedom Amendment, passed in 2023, has now been used to block a state law requiring the humane burial or cremation of aborted children.

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Last week, Ohio’s 1st District Court of Appeals upheld a ruling against Ohio’s SB 27, which mandated fetal remains be buried or cremated.

The appeals court concluded “that the plain language of the Reproductive Freedom Amendment constrains the State’s ability to regulate all phases of an abortion, including conduct occurring after the procedure.”

That ruling follows a 2021 decision from the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas preliminarily blocking the law, as well as a 2025 permanent injunction.

Ohio Right to Life Executive Director Carrie Snyder describes that court as “the most extreme liberal court that [abortion advocates] can find.”

What the Law Addressed

While abortion advocates bringing suit against SB 27 focused on the 2023 ballot initiative, pro-life groups focused on the law itself.

“The court’s decision to strike down Ohio’s fetal remains law removes a basic standard of human dignity from state policy,” Peter Range, a senior fellow for the Center for Christian Virtue, told The Daily Signal. “With this ruling, the remains of a child aborted at 10, 15, or even 20 weeks may now be treated under Ohio’s ‘infectious waste’ regulations—no differently than other medical waste,” he also warned.

Snyder declared it “a tragedy when a human body is treated like trash,” explaining that the law was “a way to address that issue and didn’t burden a woman approaching this decision at all.”

Doomed by Lawsuits From the Start

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed SB 27 into law on Dec. 30, 2020, with lawsuits quickly coming before the law even went into effect.

The Feb. 25 ruling from the 1st District Court of Appeals made clear that the Reproductive Freedom Amendment factored into the decision.

The decision also read that “the voters of Ohio intended to create a separate, independent state constitutional basis for protecting abortion and abortion providers from State intervention, other than that explicitly allowed by the Amendment. In this regard, the Reproductive Freedom Amendment fills the constitutional void left by Dobbs [v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization]. Nothing in this history or the rationale for the Amendment suggests that the voters intended to excise post-abortion conduct from its protections. Rather, the fact that Ohio voters mobilized quickly to counteract a decision of the United States Supreme Court sends a strong message of their desire to protect reproductive rights.”

A press release from the American Civil Liberties highlighted the following passage: “Ohio voters said what they meant. The state may not burden, penalize, or discriminate against those who have an abortion and those who assist them in obtaining one.”

Nevertheless, concerns remain about what voters were actually considering. Snyder pointed out that the amendment was not a matter of making abortion “completely legal or completely illegal,” or about medical care for concerns such as miscarriages. “That was not what they were voting on, that was what they thought they were voting on,” Snyder said.

“As the court explained, the Reproductive Freedom Amendment protects conduct that occurs before, during, and after a procedural abortion,” countered Jessie Hill, cooperating attorney for the ACLU of Ohio. “While this law has not been in effect for years, today’s ruling will allow our clients to focus on providing essential health care without further interference from the state. We celebrate this ruling as yet another testament to the power of Ohio’s new Reproductive Freedom Amendment, and the first affirmative interpretation from an appellate court.”

Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, which was also involved in the case, directed The Daily Signal to a statement from its medical director, Dr. Sharon Liner.

“We’re pleased that the court upheld the injunction blocking the cruel burial and cremation law. Abortion is essential healthcare and this law was nothing more than an opportunity to shame and stigmatize our patients. Our focus remains on the health, safety, and dignity of our patients,” Liner said.

Reproductive Freedom Amendment Plays a Role

Range shared with The Daily Signal that the decision to strike down the fetal remains law was expected.

“This outcome is not surprising in light of the 2023 abortion amendment. Ohioans were told the amendment would not eliminate commonsense health and safety standards. Yet we are now seeing laws struck down that were designed to reflect basic respect for human life and to ensure accountability in the abortion industry,” he pointed out.

The amendment could be used against other pro-life laws.

“The abortion advocates are using this vote from 2023, basically as a two-by-four,” Snyder said. “Voters were not given a drop-down list of things that they wanted or didn’t want as far as abortion law, so every single thing that comes up in the category whatsoever, they are pointing to this amendment.”

“I do fear that we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg now,” Snyder added.

The amendment has further ramifications beyond laws being struck down. Both Range and Snyder expressed concerns about Ohio seeing an increase in abortions in 2025.

Despite passing such an amendment, Ohio remains a red state. That’s something of a silver lining, especially compared to neighboring states like Michigan.

“If we compare to Michigan, which passed a similar amendment, and they have a very radical pro-abortion majority in the governor and Legislature, and so they knocked down every restriction as fast as they could,” Snyder said. “So, I think in Ohio, we’re fortunate that we have pro-life majority in the Legislature, we have a pro-life governor, we’re able to muffle the impact at least in the short-term.”

She also referred to the Ohio Supreme Court as a “much more favorable court” than the lower courts.

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This article was originally published at The Daily Signal. Photo Credit: trestletech/pixabay via Canva Teams.