I am not a lawyer, but with the draconian new abortion laws passed in Ohio's budget, can we prosecute Ohio's governor and legislators under criminal law? Follow me below the orange curlicue.
The relevant portion of the Ohio Revised Code are as follows:
Chapter 2907: SEX OFFENSES
2907.01 Sex offenses general definitions.
As used in sections 2907.01 to 2907.38 of the Revised Code:
(A) "Sexual conduct" means vaginal intercourse between a male and female; anal intercourse, fellatio, and cunnilingus between persons regardless of sex; and, without privilege to do so, the insertion, however slight, of any part of the body or any instrument, apparatus, or other object into the vaginal or anal opening of another. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete vaginal or anal intercourse.
2907.03 Sexual battery.
(A) No person shall engage in sexual conduct with another, not the spouse of the offender, when any of the following apply:
(1) The offender knowingly coerces the other person to submit by any means that would prevent resistance by a person of ordinary resolution.
(2) The offender knows that the other person's ability to appraise the nature of or control the other person's own conduct is substantially impaired.
(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of sexual battery. Except as otherwise provided in this division, sexual battery is a felony of the third degree. If the other person is less than thirteen years of age, sexual battery is a felony of the second degree, and the court shall impose upon the offender a mandatory prison term equal to one of the prison terms prescribed in section 2929.14 of the Revised Code for a felony of the second degree.
As I read this, if a woman objects to a vaginal ultrasound for purposes of obtaining birth control or an abortion, but the doctor goes through with it, the action fits within the definition of sexual battery. The doctor might be covered under the "without privilege to do so" clause, and I'd hate to put a doctor into the position of having to choose between obeying the abortion rules and not importuning his/her patients.
However, might we not prosecute the legislators and the governor for ordering doctors to do what otherwise would be a sexual battery? I'd love to se someone try it. The specific provisions here are for Ohio, but I'm sure similar laws apply in Texas and other states.