ORC 3701.034 Ruled Unconstitutional

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has affirmed that ORC 3701.034 is unconstitutional.  [See Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio v. Lance Himes, 6th Cir., No. 16-4027, 4/18/18.]  The court said the law violates the “unconstitutional conditions doctrine,” which forbids the government from placing conditions on a recipient of federal funds that would infringe on the recipient’s constitutional rights. While the government has no obligation to fund abortion activities, it may not use its control over federal funds to stop Planned Parenthood from exercising its constitutionally protected right to advocate for legal abortion.  ORC 3701.034 was codified by House Bill 294, and was to become effective May 23, 2016.  It would have prevented Planned Parenthood’s 28 Ohio-based affiliates – only 3 of which provide abortion services – from receiving federal money to pay for programs under the Violence Against Women Act, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act, an infertility prevention project, the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative, and a personal responsibility education program.  On 5/23/26, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio issued a temporary restraining order, blocking enforcement of the law.  [See Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio v. Hodges, 201 F. Supp. 3d 898 (S.D. Ohio 2016).]