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Ohio's Abortion Numbers Lowest Since 1976

2014 Ohio Abortion Report

A fever chart of the number of abortions occurring in Ohio would not be very dynamic.

It would show a single line steadily falling for years, according to the health department report. The annual decline averaged about 1,000 per year since 2001.

A total of just more than 21,000 abortions were performed in Ohio last year. Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, there are two main reasons.

"On the one hand, we hope that as there is increased access to contraception through the Affordable Care Act and through longer-acting contraceptives that are more effective that there are fewer unintended pregnancies, so less of a need for abortion," Copeland says.

The total number of abortions performed dropped 8.7 percent from 2013 to 2014.

Copeland also says she believes women are also leaving the state for abortions and going to Michigan. NARAL distributed a report showing that Michigan reported a 6 percent increase in the number of abortions from 2013 to 2014.

Copeland also says increased restrictions and regulations on clinics in Ohio have caused many to close. And that has hindered access for women.  

Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis agrees on the closings.

"The laws we've passed at Ohio Right to Life and with the legislature and the regulations and the department of health have played a major impact in the decrease in the number of abortions because we are holding abortion clinics accountable," Gonidakis says.

The number of clinics in Ohio had dropped by nearly half in recent years, with nine open today.

(Story by  Sarah Jane Tribble)