By Adia Miller

In 2019 Governor Mike DeWine passed a bill that banned abortion past the first sign of a fetal heartbeat, which is detectable at the 5.5-6 week period, though more definitive post seven weeks. Most women find out that they are pregnant between weeks 4-7. Abortion rights activists sued the state after the bill’s passing, which led a judge in Hamilton County to recently pass a temporary period that returns to Ohio’s previous law of a legal abortion prior to 20 weeks of gestation.

People have continued to protest in support of the heartbeat bill. But while the ban is suspended, patients in Ohio as well as Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and Texas, each known for its strict laws around abortion, use clinics for services. According to the Columbus Dispatch, within six hours of the announcement, 30 patients from multiple states were scheduled for procedures at Kettering’s Women’s Med Center. A female Bellbrook student reacted to the news of the suspension of Ohio’s law. “Even the 22 weeks, it’s not enough time. Sometimes things are unplanned; some things could hurt you. There’s just more to it,” she said.