The Ohio Senate is expected to soon vote on a bill that would ban nearly all abortions.
In response, Dr. Natalie Hinchcliffe, a family medicine provider in Cleveland and Fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health, released the following statement:
“For as long as I have been practicing medicine in Ohio, people have faced harmful laws when they need comprehensive reproductive health care. Another harmful law is up for a vote in the Senate and, even though unconstitutional, would attempt to ban all abortion, making it illegal to obtain this necessary care after six-weeks of pregnancy. Six-weeks is before many of my patients even know they are pregnant.
“Six-weeks is before many of my patients even know they are pregnant.”
“As with all restrictions my patients already face, like the unnecessary 24-hour waiting period for abortion care, this restriction would disproportionately impact women of color, patients with low incomes, immigrants, patients in rural areas, and LGBTQIA patients. Forcing women and pregnant people to carry undesired pregnancies to term is bad for families, communities, and bad for the state of Ohio as a whole. Women must be able to control their reproduction. It is essential to their autonomy, their careers, their education, and their families. It is not a politician’s decision to make. And like any ban on abortion, this ban is not what is best for Ohio families. When a similar bill was brought to our previous Governor’s desk in 2016, it was vetoed.
“I urge our state officials to prevent the passage of this bill that will push care that is both critical and incredibly safe out of reach for hundreds of thousands of Ohioans. The health and well-being of Ohio depends on it.”