CINCINNATI, OHIO - The ACLU of Ohio and Democracy Forward filed a federal complaint challenging an anti-abortion ordinance adopted by Lebanon City Council on May 25, 2021. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on behalf of the Ohio chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and Women Have Options Ohio (WHO/O).
The ordinance contains a potentially sweeping prohibition on any efforts to obtain or facilitate an abortion—even though the right to obtain an abortion remains constitutionally protected. It also deprives the public—including both pregnant persons and those who seek to provide them with assistance—of fair notice as to what conduct is prohibited. In addition, it further forbids “any person to knowingly aid or abet” a prohibited abortion, a proscription that includes things like “abortion doula services” – a term that is left vague and undefined.
Under the ordinance, ordinary citizens are asked to interpret and apply complex, nuanced legal concepts in order to determine whether their conduct is likely to subject them to prosecution. And as a result of the vague language included in the ordinance, NASW and WHO are forced to divert additional resources to ensure they can continue to provide services to their clients and members—reallocating staff time, spending money on things like procuring legal advice, and generally trying to protect themselves and their members.
“Anti-abortion activists have mounted a national campaign to encourage municipalities to adopt sweeping local bans on abortion. The ordinance’s vagueness, coupled with its potentially sweeping breadth, render it unlawful on multiple fronts,” noted Jessie Hill, cooperating attorney for the ACLU of Ohio.
“As the nation faces increasing threats to democracy at the state and local levels, these ordinances provide a chilling glimpse of a reality that extremists seek to impose on people and communities across the country, said John Lewis, senior counsel for Democracy Forward. “These ordinances don't exist in a vacuum -- they are inextricably linked to and reinforce other threats to democratic institutions and we will continue to hold those responsible accountable.”
“The work we do to help people access abortion in Ohio and the Midwest helps our communities thrive. As the only statewide abortion fund, we will not be intimidated, and we are not going anywhere. We will continue to stand up to our oppressors who have launched this attack on our bodily autonomy. These attacks against abortion care are meant to stigmatize and restrict access and prevent us from supporting Ohioans. We will not be harassed or intimidated out of serving Ohio, in the courts or anywhere else. We will protect our staff, our volunteers and our donors. We are proud to fight back, and will always stand up for Reproductive Justice," noted Jordyn Close, WHO/O board Chair.
“Supporting clients in their pregnancy and parenting education is a regular part of ethical, competent social work practice. Lebanon’s “Sanctuary for the Unborn” ordinance has, in essence, created a criminal penalty against social workers who are simply doing their jobs. The ordinance criminalizes the “aiding and abetting” of abortion through “abortion doula services,” a vague term for which no definition is provided. Social workers offer emotional, logistical, and informational support to clients who are working through their decisions around pregnancy and parenting -- including when the client chooses to seek an abortion. Social workers are obligated to abide by the standards set forth in the NASW Code of Ethics and as state-licensed professionals legally required to follow the Ohio laws and rules that stipulate that social workers are to provide support to clients in alignment with what they self-determine is in their best interest. This ordinance thus asks social workers to defy their guiding principles for practice and their ethical obligations to their client or face criminal action,” noted Danielle Smith, NASW Ohio Executive Director.
Lebanon became the first city in Ohio to adopt this type of municipal abortion ban, which was adopted as an emergency measure, causing it to take effect immediately. Although Mason, Ohio passed a ban on October 25, 2021, it repealed that ordinance two months later. Similar bans were rejected in Celina and London.
The complaint alleges that the ordinance violates the First Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Home Rule provision of the Ohio Constitution, which constrains the authority of municipalities. The plaintiffs ask the Court to declare the Lebanon abortion ban unlawful and prevent its enforcement.