Ohio city rewrites abortion ban, advocacy groups end lawsuit

By JULIE CARR SMYTH
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Groups representing social workers and women say they have succeeded in forcing a small Ohio city to significantly narrow its abortion ban and dropped their lawsuit. The National Association of Social Workers and the Abortion Fund of Ohio said their move Jan. 12 followed the city of Lebanon removing provisions that made aiding and abetting an abortion a crime. The city opted to revise the law rather than defend it in court. But the leader of the Texas group that pushed the ban said the revisions were of little consequence to the fact that abortion remains illegal in Lebanon from conception.