Anti-abortion Ohio lawmakers repeating previously failed concepts
Press Release | March 24, 2026
COLUMBUS, Ohio — In an attempt to gain conservative votes before a primary election, Ohio state legislators are regurgitating a fictitious and potentially harmful concept and reintroducing a bill to push misinformation on patients seeking medication abortion.
In response, Abortion Forward Executive Director Kellie Copeland said: “Patients need medically accurate information, not state-mandated deception, pressure, or shame. It is especially concerning that anti-abortion legislators are attempting to pass laws that would require doctors to inform patients about a practice that is both unproven and has serious safety concerns. Ohioans are disgusted that legislators are continuing their attempts to interfere with their reproductive health care, even after the passage of the Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment more than two years ago.”
Reps. Johnathan Newman (R-Troy) and Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester) announced their bill in a press conference this morning. [Edit: The bill number has been assigned: House Bill 783.] The fabricated concept pushed by the bill, taking progesterone after the first step of a two-drug regimen for medication abortion, is unproven and potentially harmful. Additionally, the phrase pushed by the sponsors, “abortion reversal” is not a medical term.
Copeland continued: “Abortion care providers want patients to make informed decisions. They spend time discussing all medically proven options with patients and supporting whatever decision they make. People who seek abortion care arrive at a thoughtful decision about what is best for them, their families, and their futures; we trust them to be the experts in their own lives. Providers need to be able to support patients in considering their options without state-mandated deception, pressure, or shame.”
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) does not recommend the practice, stating that “claims of medication abortion reversal are not supported by the body of scientific evidence, and this approach is not recommended in ACOG’s clinical guidance on medication abortion.”
This concept has been previously introduced in the Ohio General Assembly, as Senate Bill 155 in 2019 and House Bill 378 in 2022.
