Providers in Ohio prepare for new patients as Indiana's near-total abortion ban goes into effect

While courts and voters wait to decide the fate of the Ohio's six-week abortion ban, Cincinnati's Planned Parenthood says it's gearing up to take more patients as abortion becomes illegal in Indiana. With Ohio's so-called "heartbeat bill" on hold, abortion in the state currently is legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.

Indiana's Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a legal challenge to the state's near-total abortion ban. That means the state's law passed last year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade is in effect.

Many Hoosiers seeking the procedure will likely travel to Ohio, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Administrative Director of Surgery Vanessa Hinsdale says. That's a continuation of a trend since Roe fell, as residents of more restrictive states like Indiana and Kentucky have sought abortions here.