The state’s leading abortion rights group is asking an Ohio Supreme Court justice to remove herself from two cases involving abortion providers.
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Sharon Kennedy spoke last week at a fundraiser for Greater Toledo Right to Life. The state high court will hear cases later this year involving a Toledo abortion clinic’s fight with the state over transfer agreements and abortion restrictions in the 2013 state budget. NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio spokesman Gabriel Mann says Kennedy needs to recuse herself from hearing those cases.
“If she’s participating in fundraisers for right-to- life organizations, she’s lost the ability to be impartial in a case that might come before her about Ohio abortion clinics,” Mann says.
In an op-ed, Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor defended Kennedy, saying she spoke only about the workings of the court system and that the criticism of her is unfair.
