Trumbull County Judge David L. Engler is seeking to stop abortions in Ohio through a lawsuit he filed with the Ohio Supreme Court contending the 2023 reproductive rights constitutional amendment does not provide protections for minors.

Rather than asking the court to focus on that lone issue, Engler, a domestic relations / juvenile division court judge, wants an end to all abortions and a revote on the issue, approved by 57% of voters in November 2023.

Engler’s lawsuit states that the reproductive rights amendment, which took effect in December 2023 as Article I, Section 22 of the Ohio Constitution, removes parental consent requirements for minors seeking abortions as well as effectively removing a state law that gives juvenile court judges the authority to grant abortions to minors if petitioned through a judicial-bypass hearing.

“A 15-year-old girl in Ohio cannot get a tattoo without a parent present, but she can now obtain an abortion with no parental involvement at all,” Engler

said.

It’s an interesting argument, but it’s going to be challenging for Engler to win the case.

A former Democrat who served as a Mahoning County commissioner in the 1990s, Engler is a pro-life Republican elected to his judicial seat in the November 2024 election. Having served as a domestic relations / juvenile division court judge for less than 16 months, Engler is running in the May 5 Republican primary for a seat on the 11th District Court of Appeals.

Engler garnered media attention for his lawsuit, which is part of the reason for the timing of the lawsuit.

The lawsuit raised Engler’s name recognition against Marisa L. Cornachio, who has received endorsements from a number of prominent Republicans and has raised more money for her campaign than Engler.

Engler’s approach could appeal to conservative voters.

Because there isn’t a Democrat running in the 11th District race, Engler doesn’t have to worry about appearing too far to the right. The reason there isn’t a Democrat in this race is that the district is solidly Republican and party affiliation appears on the general election ballot.

The district includes Trumbull, Lake, Ashtabula, Geauga and Portage counties.

Engler filed the petition for a writ of mandamus April 14 against Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Secretary of State Frank LaRose in their official capacities — both Republicans who oppose abortion — and the Ohio Ballot Board, which approves ballot language for statewide constitutional amendments.

A response from the respondents is not required until May 6, the day after the primary.

Engler said, “My lawsuit asks the Ohio Supreme Court to stop the enforcement of the abortion amendment until the language can be corrected and voted on again. Parents have always had the right to know and the right to protect their children. Judicial-bypass hearings have been a safeguard for decades. Eliminating both parental consent and judicial oversight leaves minors unprotected.”

Engler wants the state’s high court to correct the “unintended consequences of the amendment’s enforcement.”

In an affidavit attached to the petition for a writ, Engler wrote that during the five years before 2025, the Trumbull County Juvenile Court saw about two judicial-bypass petitions per year. Since then, there’s been none because of the reproductive rights law.

The law reads: “Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on: contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage care and abortion.”

Engler’s argument is essentially that people didn’t know or consider that the reproductive rights amendment would allow minors to have abortions without the knowledge of their parents or that a man who impregnates an underage female through rape could force that person to have an abortion.

Abortion Forward Executive Director Kellie Copeland said: “You can tell it’s an election year. Activist Judge David Engler is filing a politically frivolous lawsuit that is an inappropriate, cynical attempt to eliminate reproductive rights in Ohio. He is trying to undermine the 57% of voters who passed the Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment in 2023. Judge Engler has explicitly promoted statements by anti-abortion organizations in an effort to advance his political career. Ohio voters said what they said. Reproductive freedom is the law of the land. Judges must respect that.”

Carrie Snyder, executive director of Ohio Right to Life, said, “We tried to warn voters in 2023 that basic parental rights would be stripped by the abortion amendment, but I’ve talked to many people who did not realize until after the fact that this is indeed true. Parents, and when necessary, a probate judge in their stead, should maintain the ability to be involved with a decision of this magnitude when it involves their underage daughter.

“We appreciate Judge Engler’s courage in revealing this constitutional conflict and look forward to the Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling on this issue.”

David Skolnick covers politics for the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator.