Women scheduled to get abortions on Friday were turned away at clinic doors, while lawyers scrambled to obtain a delay in the implementation of Ohio's stricter abortion law.
By the end of the day, a judge had agreed to a two-week delay to allow clinics and courts time to change the way they do business to accommodate the new law.
The law now will take effect at 5 p.m. on Sept. 22.
``We were told by all the attorneys not to do them (on Friday),'' said Carol Westfall, executive director of the Akron Women's Medical Group on East Market Street and its sister facility in Cleveland.
Westfall didn't mince words about the decision issued late Thursday by U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith in Cincinnati. That decision upheld a 1998 state law that requires teenage girls to obtain parental consent before getting an abortion.
It also requires adults seeking abortions to meet in person with a doctor at least 24 hours beforehand to get a description of the procedure and information about alternatives. Under the former law, that information could be given over the phone or by videotape.
It was the 24-hour requirement that was causing problems at the local clinic.
``This ruling came out at quarter to five on a Thursday night. It was impossible to get a hold of these patients,'' Westfall said. ``My opinion is, the judge should be lynched.'' (my emphasis)
Westfall said Fridays and Saturdays are the busiest days at her clinics because women schedule their procedures so that they have a few days to rest before returning to work.
``They're making this very, very hard on working women,'' she said.
Beckwith had ordered that the new law take effect immediately.
For some background information on the law, you can read this article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
After fighting to keep this law from taking effect for 7 years, an abortionist calls for a judge to be lynched because they had to cancel a day's worth of appointments?
HT: The Corner
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