Just yesterday the Ohio Senate passed the six-week ban on abortion, and today they will vote on a bill that would ban on a common method of abortion care.
Dr. Natalie Hinchcliffe, family medicine physician in Ohio and Fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health, released the following statement in response:
“In trying to pass two bills that would restrict or almost completely ban access to abortion care two days in a row, the lawmakers of Ohio have forgotten who they represent: people like my patients who need access to this necessary care. These patients are mothers, educators, and students. They rely on accessible, safe health care, and that includes abortion care. These back-to-back bills are a direct attack on their health care.
“I urge our lawmakers to listen to the facts: these bills are an attack on women, on families, and on the freedom and well-being of our state.”
“The bill they are voting on today would ban a safe method of abortion that is the most common method in the second trimester. Abortion is one of the safest medical procedures, but bans like these only make abortion more inaccessible than it already is to the women and families of Ohio.
“Just yesterday, the Ohio Senate was also trying to pass a near-total ban on access to abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, before most of my patients would even know they are pregnant.
“Both of these bills will harm my patients—both go against the best medical evidence and would prevent doctors from providing the best care for each patient. As a medical expert and a doctor who provides abortion care, I can tell you that there is no medical justification for these bans. There are political reasons, but not medical reasons.
“I urge our lawmakers to listen to the facts: these bills are an attack on women, on families, and on the freedom and well-being of our state. Please do not put politics before medicine. Please stay out of the patient-provider relationship and allow me to follow evidence-based medicine and provide the best care for each of my patients. ”