On Sept. 27, Jessie Hill argued a case entitled Preterm-Cleveland v. David Yost before the Ohio Supreme Court. Hill represents abortion providers challenging the law, together with the ACLU, Planned Parenthood and the law firm Wilmer Hale. This case comes at a critical moment for reproductive health care access in Ohio, as Ohioans prepare to vote in November on a ballot initiative that would codify reproductive rights in the Ohio Constitution.
The case is before the Supreme Court because the state government appealed a lower court’s order blocking Ohio’s six-week abortion ban, which had been in effect for three months in 2022. The case focuses on two procedural questions: 1) whether the state government can immediately appeal the lower court’s order and 2) whether abortion providers can bring legal challenges on behalf of their patients. Professor Hill is a prominent and accomplished reproductive rights advocate who is widely admired for her scholarship, teaching and litigation in the field.