There were 468 fewer abortions performed in the buckeye state in 2018 than in 2017. But supporters and opponents of legal abortion disagree on the reason for the decline.
When it comes to the new abortion report, there’s one point on which Ohio Right to Life Executive Director Stephanie Ranade Krider and Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Executive Director Kellie Copeland agree – Ohio is not the only state where the number of abortions declined.
“It follows a nationwide trend so this isn’t an Ohio specific or isolated incident," Krider says.
“Ohio is very in line with what’s happening nationally," Copeland says.
But when it comes to why they think the number of abortions in Ohio is decreasing, the two women have different perspectives. Copeland thinks Obamacareis responsible for the decrease.
“Because of the Affordable Care Act and the ability that people have to access the birth control they need and not just that they can afford to pay out of pocket, we are seeing the rates of unintended pregnancies go down," Copeland says.
Krider thinks more women are opting to continue pregnancies because of public awareness campaigns and pregnancy distress centers that offer alternatives to abortion. And she credits restrictions, including the six-week so called “Heartbeat ban," which is on a court ordered hold.
Controversial "Heartbeat Bill" Abortion Ban Is Signed Into Law https://t.co/QQRzN8fOg2
— Jo Ingles (@joingles) April 12, 2019
“I know that pregnancy centers across the state have seen an uptick in the number of clients visiting, thinking that they are not able to get an abortion earlier in pregnancy," Krider says.
Copeland doesn’t think those restrictions are having much of an impact right now.
“For the most part, abortion remains accessible to the people who need it in Ohio. It remains accessible in all of the cities that had it before. And the abortion restrictions that have been put in place are largely being tied up in court so they haven’t had the disastrous impact that we anticipate on Ohio’s public yet," Copeland says.
The report shows more than 80 percent of the 20,425 abortions in Ohio in 2018 were performed at 12 weeks or earlier. The 2018 numbers were down 23% from 2017. When it comes to who is getting abortions, the report says more were performed on African American women, a fact that haunts Krider.
"Black women, in particular, are just vastly disproportionately represented in the number of women having abortions. They make up 44.3% of the abortions performed in a given year while they make up just 12% of the actual population. So certainly, that is not in the proportion you would expect to see if there were not some sort of disparity there," Krider explains.
The report shows surgical abortions represented 56% of the abortions performed in 2018. That method has decreased since 2001 when 87% of terminations were surgical procedures. Abortions using medication made up the rest of the procedures. And in some clinics, like Toledo for example, those medication abortions, done at the earliest stages in pregnancy, are the only option.
When it comes to where abortions are being performed, the report shows clinics in Cleveland performed a little more than 37%, Columbus area clinics provided a little more than 18%. The Cincinnati area followed with 15%. And though Dayton is a smaller city, a little more than 14% were performed there. Copeland notes that clinic has been in a battle with the state over a transfer agreement with a local hospital.
“They’ve seen approximately 1000 more patients since 2013 and that signals to us why it’s so important that the Ohio Department of Health approve that clinic’s request for a license renewal, that they approve their variance and they allow them to continue to provide that vital care that so many people now rely on," Copeland says.
The abortion report shows more than 12,000 (12,359) of the abortions last year were on women between 25 and 55 years old. More than 6,000 were on women between 20 and 24 years old. 18 and 19 year old women got more than 1300. And girls under the age of 18 represented 625 abortions. Krider wants to make sure the state follows up on those.
“It just raises a lot of questions about those girls and the circumstances they are in and if there are questions of rape or family violence or incest. And are they receiving the care they deserve?," Kriders asks.
The bottom line is this: the same numbers mean different things to Krider and Copeland. But both say they think next year’s report might shed more light on exactly how the implementation of new abortion restrictions are …..or are not…..affecting the number performed in the buckeye state.
Copyright 2019 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.