The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio, and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit in June of 2019 challenging an Ohio law banning abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy. This law would effectively eliminate abortion access in the state. In July of 2019, we successfully obtained a preliminary injunction, blocking this law from taking effect. On July 7, 2022, following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization reversing Roe v. Wade, the case was dismissed without prejudice.

On March 29, 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, and Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit challenging Ohio’s refusal to correct the gender marker on birth certificates for transgender people, for any reason, at any time. Ohio is one of just three states, with Tennessee and Kansas, that has yet to change the extremely regressive and harmful policy. The lawsuit states that the Ohio government has violated the equal protection, due process, and free speech rights of Stacie Ray, Basil Argento, Ashley Breda, and a fourth, unnamed plaintiff.

On April 18, 2019, WRP filed an amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, challenging a criminal activity nuisance ordinance in Bedford, Ohio, on behalf of Beverly Somai and the Fair Housing Center for Rights & Research. Bedford’s nuisance ordinance penalizes property owners when two or more perceived violations of any law, excluding traffic violations, occur near the home or involve a resident of the property within a one-year period. The city enforces the ordinance based on calls for police assistance — even if the resident is the victim of the crime or needs aid, such as Ms. Somai and her son. Bedford’s ordinance and its enforcement disproportionately impacts communities of color, low-income households, people with disabilities, and domestic violence survivors—the vast majority of whom are women.

The American Civil Liberties Union and partner organizations filed a lawsuit challenging Ohio’s practice of ‘purging’ or removing people who vote infrequently from its voting rolls, charging that it is in violation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).