A Cincinnati judge struck down Ohio's heartbeat law in 2024 and declared that the voters had spoken.
But one Ohio judge had already refused to go along when the state's highest court walked away from the fight.
Now that judge holds a lifetime federal seat after a Senate showdown that came down to one vote.
Trump Judicial Nominee Matthew Byrne Confirmed to Federal Court in Ohio
The Senate confirmed Judge Matthew R. Byrne to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on September 15 by a vote of 52-45.
Every Democrat who showed up voted no.
President Donald Trump nominated Byrne on the recommendation of Ohio Sens. Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno and Vice President JD Vance.
Byrne was elected to Ohio's Twelfth District Court of Appeals in 2020 after a decade as an employment lawyer.
Husted told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Byrne had decided more than 800 appeals and written opinions in nearly 250 cases.
"Judge Byrne has earned a distinguished reputation as a hardworking, thoughtful, and fair judge," Husted said.
His pro-life work goes back years.
He has been affiliated with Ohio Right to Life, Cincinnati Right to Life, Warren County Right to Life, and the Center for Christian Virtue, and he served on the board of a pro-life pregnancy center.
Judge Matthew Byrne Refused to Give Dick Durbin an Abortion Sound Bite
Back in 2020, with Roe v. Wade still the law of the land, Byrne filled out an Ohio Right to Life PAC survey.
He cited "pro-life efforts throughout my career."
He said he opposed abortion except to protect the life of the mother, with no exceptions for rape or incest.
And he said "life of the mother" should be "strictly defined so as to avoid creating loopholes."
Senate Judiciary Democrats pounced.
Ranking Member Dick Durbin demanded in writing that Byrne explain why he opposed those exceptions, and Amy Klobuchar grilled him on the same survey.
Byrne didn't take the bait.
"As a federal judicial nominee, it would be inappropriate for me to opine as the question asks me to comment on a matter of political controversy," he answered.
That's exactly how a judge is supposed to answer.
After the abortion industry pushed its constitutional amendment through Ohio in November 2023, Byrne was sitting as a visiting judge on the Ohio Supreme Court.
That December, the court dismissed an appeal over the Legislature's six-week abortion ban.
Byrne was the only one of the seven judges who would not join that decision.
Byrne's Nomination Survived a 47-46 Senate Test Vote
The real drama came on September 14, the day before the final vote.
The Senate voted 47-46 to end debate on Byrne's nomination.
Maine's Susan Collins voted to move him forward.
One vote flipped the other way and Durbin's side would have had Byrne stuck on the Senate floor.
Ohio Federal Court Once Blocked the State From Defunding Planned Parenthood
Byrne is joining a court that has handed Planned Parenthood some big wins.
In 2016, Ohio passed a law to stop steering health department money to groups that perform abortions.
On May 23, 2016 – the day it was set to take effect – Judge Michael Barrett of the Southern District of Ohio blocked it.
Planned Parenthood claimed it would lose about $1.5 million a year.
It took until March 2019 for the full Sixth Circuit to overturn him, 11-6, and let Ohio cut off the money.
That July, with Roe still on the books, the same judge blocked Ohio's heartbeat law days before it took effect.
Ohio's 2023 amendment sent most abortion fights into state court.
But the federal fights never stopped – taxpayer money for Planned Parenthood, the free speech of pregnancy centers and sidewalk counselors, and the conscience rights of doctors and nurses who won't take part in abortion.
Those cases land on federal judges in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton.
Seventy-Three Lawyers From Both Parties Vouched for the New Pro-Life Judge
Pro-abortion activists branded Byrne an extremist.
The lawyers who actually know him said otherwise.
Seventy-three attorneys signed a letter backing him, admitting they "disagree on many legal and policy issues."
"He listens carefully, examines the facts with care, and approaches legal questions with an open mind," they wrote.
That's what pro-lifers want on the bench – a judge who follows the law as written, not the demands of the abortion lobby.
Trump, Vance, Husted, and Moreno delivered a man with a lifetime of pro-life service and a reputation for fairness to match.
And he will hold that seat for decades.
Sources:
- Steven Ertelt, "Senate Confirms Pro-Life State Judge for Federal Judgeship," LifeNews.com, September 15, 2026.
- U.S. Senate Periodical Press Gallery, "Tuesday, September 15, 2026," U.S. Senate Daily Press, September 15, 2026.
- Matthew R. Byrne, "Responses to Questions for the Record," Senate Judiciary Committee, June 2026.
- Letter of Support From a Bipartisan Group of Lawyers, Senate Judiciary Committee, June 19, 2026.
- Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio v. Himes, No. 16-4027, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, April 18, 2018.
- Max Czernin, "Sixth Circuit Upholds Ohio Law Defunding Planned Parenthood," The National Law Review, March 18, 2019.
- "Judge Barrett Blocks Ohio's Heartbeat Bill From Taking Effect," Ohio Right to Life, July 3, 2019.
- Haley Chi-Sing, "Ohio Judge Strikes Down State's 6-Week Abortion Ban as Unconstitutional," Fox News, October 25, 2024.
