Ohio city reverses ban on abortions

An Ohio city that criminalized abortions in late October has reversed course after elected officials repealed the law entirely on Monday.

The City Council in Mason voted 6-1 to repeal the so-called abortion ban, which was mostly symbolic since the jurisdiction has no abortion clinics. But it did restrict women from using abortion drugs and carried a misdemeanor fine for anyone who performs an abortion or assists in an abortion procedure within city limits.

The repeal came after residents in Mason, the largest city in Warren County, voted out two city council members who supported the ban in a November election. More than 2,000 residents also signed a petition that would have put a repeal of the abortion ban to a citizen’s referendum.

City Councilman Ashley Chance, who voted for the repeal, called the abortion ban “complete government overreach.”

“This was a political weapon during an election,” he said, also arguing the law wasn’t effective because it wouldn’t keep abortion providers like Planned Parenthood out of the city.

Mason was the second city to institute an abortion ban, following nearby Lebanon in May. Lebanon has not reversed its ban.

Residents showed up to the fiery council meeting in droves, with most protesting the abortion ban and urging members to repeal the law.

Councilman Joshua Styrcula announced he was voting to repeal the ban as a means of “fixing and repairing bad legislation,” a sentiment echoed by fellow Councilman Mark Haake and Mayor Barbara Spaeth, both of whom campaigned against the ban before winning election in November.

“I appreciate the passion and the spirit of the people who want to protect life, but this action was an overreach of city government,” Spaeth said. “This issue is not up to a locality to decide.”

The news follows abortion challenges across the country, from banning abortions after six weeks in Texas to a 15-week ban in Mississippi. The Mississippi ban has reached the U.S. Supreme Court, a direct challenge to the court’s 1973 decision in Roe V. Wade, which granted abortion as a private right.

City Councilwoman Kathy Grossman, the sole vote against the repeal on Monday, argued the Mason city ban was not a violation of Roe v. Wade because it doesn’t ban women from getting an abortion — the law just made it criminal to perform the procedure.

“If we have an opportunity to go as far as we can legally with federal and state laws to provide a deterrent,” she said, “to make it more difficult for an abortion provider to provide their services here — then that was a good decision.”