Ohio woman will not face criminal charges following miscarriage

Brittany Watts, a 34-year-old woman from Ohio, found herself at the center of a controversial legal battle and faced potential indictment for a fifth-degree felony of “abuse of a corpse” after miscarrying a nonviable fetus at home. Watts’ arrest in October 2023 sent shockwaves through the reproductive rights movement, raising questions about the implications of […]

Ohio’s Abortion Rights Future: Issue 1 Defeat Highlights Voter Commitment

Ohioans Vote for Abortion Rights, Defeating Issue 1 Last week, Ohioans overwhelmingly voted against a ballot measure that would make it harder to amend the state’s constitution. The hotly contested election served as a proxy battle between pro-abortion and anti-abortion forces committed to winning victory in the upcoming November 2023 ballot initiative to add abortion […]

Ohio’s abortion rights amendment qualifies for November ballot

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash In November, Ohio voters will decide whether to amend the state Constitution to include a right to reproductive freedom. State officials said on Tuesday that the petition had culled 495,938 valid signatures across 55 counties, surpassing the requisite 413,487 signatures across 44 counties.  Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio […]

Ohio Lawmakers Introduce Total Abortion Ban

On Wednesday, lawmakers in Ohio introduced a bill banning all abortions in the state.  The bill has a similar structure as Texas’s SB8, deputizing private citizens to sue abortion providers and anyone who helps someone access abortion care. Those lawsuits can reach $10,000 or more. Much like in Texas’s law, the bill is designed to […]

Federal Court Strikes Down Ohio Anti-Trans Birth Certificate Law

On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled against an Ohio law that prevented transgender individuals from correcting their assigned gender on their birth certificate. Judge Michael Watson found the measure unconstitutional, writing in his decision that, “This policy resembles the sort of discrimination-based legislation struck down under the equal protection clause in Romer v. Evans as […]

Ohio Governor Expected to Sign Bill Requiring the Burial of Abortion Remains

Last Thursday, the Ohio House of Representatives approved a bill that would require the burial of fetal remains from surgical abortions. The bill passed along party lines by a vote of 60-36 in the House, and 24-7 in the Senate. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is expected to sign the bill into law. The measure will […]

Ohio Left With Only Eight Abortion Clinics After Recent Closure

Ohio will have only eight abortion clinics after the closing of Founder’s Women’s Health Center in Columbus. The clinic is set to close this month, upon delivering final care to its existing patients. The owners of Founder’s Women’s Health Center say the clinic’s closure is due to their retirement. They declined to make a statement […]

Ohio Senate Introduces Bill Banning Telemedicine Abortion

On January 21st, the Ohio Senate introduced a bill, State Senate Bill 260, which would ban telemedicine abortions, following the lead of 18 states that currently ban this abortion procedure. Telemedicine abortion occurs when there is not a clinician on staff when a patient visits a health center, and the patient would have a video […]

Ohio Bill Requires Doctors to Reimplant Ectopic Pregnancies

A new Ohio bill requires doctors to reimplant ectopic pregnancies in the uterus, in an attempt to save the pregnancy. House Bill 413 was introduced in the Republican-controlled legislature in November by Representatives Candice Keller and Ron Hood. The 700-page bill defines a fertilized egg as an “unborn child” and outlaws abortions unless the mother’s […]

Ohio Governor Releases Gun Reform Policies in Response to Mass Shootings

This Tuesday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine released a series of policy proposals aimed at reducing gun violence statewide. He addressed the issue from both major perspectives, outlining ideas to ensure better mental healthcare services and to implement gun control reform legislation. The legislative reforms are broad in scope and include many policies that the federal […]

Judge Blocks Ohio’s Fetal Heartbeat Law

Last Wednesday, U.S District Judge Michael Barrett temporarily blocked an Ohio law that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, allowing clinics to continue to provide abortions. The law was slated to take effect this month, but Judge Barrett issued a preliminary injunction, blocking the law from taking effect while it is […]

Ohio Implements Unconstitutional Six Week Abortion Ban

Ohio has officially banned abortions after 5-6 weeks of pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant. The law will make an exception to save a woman’s life, however no exceptions for cases of rape and incest. It will take effect in 90 days unless blocked by a federal judge. The law also creates […]

Ohio Terminates State Funding For Planned Parenthood

On Thursday, the Ohio Department of Health(ODH) notified Planned Parenthood locations all across the state that they would no longer be receiving funding starting next month, due to a 2016 state law that was upheld earlier this month by a federal appeals court. The law forbids the state from providing funding to any affiliations that […]

New Ohio Governor ramps up Attacks on Abortion Rights

Newly sworn in governor Mike DeWine made a surprise appearance at the Ohio March for Life rally on Tuesday and has announced that he would sign the heartbeat bill, vetoed by Kasich, if it came to his desk. This bill would ban abortion after 6 weeks without exceptions for rape and incest, making it the […]

Ohio Lawmakers Pass Two Anti-Abortion Bills

This week, Ohio lawmakers passed and sent two anti-abortion bills that would restrict abortion access to Governor John Kasich’s office. Opponents of the two bills, the Heartbeat Bill and the Dilation and Evacuation Ban, stated that both bills are unconstitutional and would have a detrimental impact on the state’s health care system. Neither bill includes […]

Supreme Court Upholds Ohio Voter Suppression Law

In a 5-4 decision last week, the Supreme Court upheld an Ohio law that removes voters from voter rolls after four years of inactivity. This reversed the 6th Circuit Appeals Court’s decision finding that the Ohio policy violated the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, a law that bans removing voters from voter rolls for failing to vote. The decision fell along ideological lines.

Ohio and Planned Parenthood Settle Federal Lawsuit

Planned Parenthood reached a settlement with the state of Ohio last week, nearly six months after the healthcare provider filed a federal lawsuit seeking to prevent state Attorney General Mike DeWine from unfairly prosecuting the organization.

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