Gabriel Mann

Dear friends, 

Four years ago today, the Trump-picked majority in the US Supreme Court ended the federal protection of abortion rights made possible by Roe v. Wade.  

What happened next? What’s happening now? Let’s discuss the state of abortion access in Ohio, how we got here, and how your support has been so very critical at every step along the way. 

Thank you for being with us on this journey. 

For abortion, forever, 

Kellie Copeland and the entire team at Abortion Forward 

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The end of Roe 

The landmark 1973 Roe decision was deeply flawed but did provide a minimum level of assurance that abortion access would be available in some form. Roe was overturned when the Supreme Court issued the majority decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24, 2022. The national right to obtain an abortion was ended, and the decision-making power was given to each individual state.  

In Ohio, that decision had already been made. In 2019, Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill banning abortion in the sixth week of pregnancy, and the state Attorney General Dave Yost pushed for courts to immediately put that ban into effect on the same day Dobbs was published. Yost got his wish when a federal judge ruled that the six-week ban could go into effect that afternoon. For the next 82 days, Ohioans who needed abortion care, and who had the means, fled our state to get that care. 

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Moving the plan forward 

The clinic shutdowns made it crystal clear to abortion rights advocates that they needed to take the question to the voters directly. We knew that the majority of Ohioans supported abortion rights, but the anti-abortion majority in Ohio state legislature was gerrymandered into place. There was no way we could ever count on them to represent the will of the voters – especially after they had passed more than 30 restrictions on reproductive health care over the previous decade. 

We quickly saw other states vote on abortion related measures. Kansas led the way defeating an anti-abortion ballot measure that would have banned abortion in their state. In quick order, six other states followed, including Ohio’s northern neighbor Michigan, who protected abortion rights in their constitution in 2023 and Kentucky, who followed Kansas’ lead in defeating a measure to remove any constitutional protections for abortion.  

Those wins confirmed what we already knew: winning in Ohio was possible. 

Abortion-rights advocates in Ohio had been working on the problem for years. There had been a strong opposition to every bill attempting to ban or restrict abortion since the six-week ban was first introduced in 2011. A coalition was formed from nine organizations: Abortion Forward (formerly Pro-Choice Ohio), Abortion Fund of Ohio, ACLU of Ohio, New Voices for Reproductive Justice, Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, Ohio Women’s Alliance, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, Preterm-Cleveland, and URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity. 

Together, they formed Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights. 

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The August Special Election 

While the OURR coalition started collecting signatures to qualify a constitutional amendment for the November ballot, the anti-abortion state legislature was also hatching another plot. They put an August Special Election on the calendar with one question: should Ohio require that any constitutional amendment need 60% of the vote to pass. This was a threat to more than just abortion rights, and a massive swell of opposition to this special election came from Ohioans working in organized labor, education, environmentalists, healthcare advocates, supporters of voting rights, etc.  

Together, they defeated the August ballot issue. That cleared the way for the big vote in November.  

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Winning on abortion in Ohio 

Abortion opponents inside all three branches of Ohio government conspired to work against our campaign. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose put intentionally misleading language on the ballot to try to confuse voters about how the constitutional amendment would protect reproductive freedom. The anti-abortion majority on the Supreme Court of Ohio upheld LaRose’s trickery. AG Yost stuck his nose back into the debate, misusing his office to publish a 13-page personal opinion on the abortion amendment. Gov. DeWine made TV commercials opposing the issue.  

What the politicians in the Ohio Statehouse forgot was the simple fact that Ohioans want abortion to be legal and accessible. 

The November vote was 57%-43% in favor of protect abortion rights! The Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment was added as Article 1, Section 22 of the Ohio Constitution. 

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Access today 

Today, there are FOURTEEN abortion clinics serving patients across Ohio, with telemedicine options for patients who need it. Five abortion funds offer direct financial assistance or practical support for people who need a little help obtaining abortion care. The patients they serve mostly come from Ohio, but many people travel to the Buckeye State from other areas, especially if they live in one of the 13 states that currently bans or restricts abortion for them. 

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Winning in the courts 

The Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment made all of that care possible, but it’s important to be clear about what the change Ohio Constitution does and does not do. 

The amendment established an individual right to one’s own reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion. That opening line gives abortion rights advocates the ability to challenge any abortion restriction in court, backed by the full weight of the state constitution… but that’s not the same as instantly changing the law.  

Each law restricting abortion must be challenged individually: 

• The six-week abortion ban was already temporarily blocked by courts when the voters spoke in 2023, and the courts made an easy decision to keep the ban blocked.  

• A law requiring a 24-hour waiting period on abortion care (essentially requiring patients to make often-costly second visits to clinics) was also blocked after a lawsuit was filed. 

• At this time, four other lawsuits are actively seeking to overturn restrictions on abortion patients and providers. Most of these lawsuits are being brought by Ohio abortion clinics with legal support from ACLU of Ohio and Planned Parenthood. 

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Defense in the legislature 

In the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives, unfortunately, opposition to abortion rights is a never-ending plague. Despite the protection in the state constitution, there are ELEVEN bills from politicians trying to find a way to restrict abortion today. These join a raft of other bills and budget amendments that have popped up to attack the transgender community, deny Ohioans full access to the ballot box, strip low-income people from Medicaid, and other horrid human rights violations. 

With respect to abortion rights, the attacks come in four gross flavors of state legislation: 

• Four bills would create barriers to abortion (HB 324, HB 347, HB 783, & SB 309). 

• Three bills would create legal frameworks to track pregnancies and give rights to embryos and fetuses to increase criminalization of pregnant individuals (HB 87, HB 370, HB 754). 

• Three bills push taxpayer funded anti-abortion propaganda in schools (HB 485, SB 156, SB 310). 

• One bill is an attempt to restrict contraceptive care (HB 410). 

Leading the opposition in the halls of the Ohio Statehouse, Abortion Forward brings expert policy analysis, coordinates witnesses for committee hearings, and educates the media on the harm of restrictions and the benefits when everyone can get the care they need. 

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Storytellers are the key 

The path to lasting victory is found in the work done to reduce and eliminate stigma around abortion. Opponents of abortion rights find themselves abandoned when more and more people see that abortion is healthcare. People who have had an abortion have been coming forward to talk about their experiences, and their stories have made all the difference in the world. The biggest impact in the debate happens when abortion patients speak to their families, to their communities, to policymakers, and even step up to the microphone and speak to the media. That is how we won in Ohio in 2023, and how we can continue to win in the future.  

Projects like Patients to Advocates bring trainings and resources to storytellers to make this all possible. 

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Abortion is still on the ballot 

Voting will always be important in protecting abortion rights. On the 2026 Ohio ballot, three key statewide races are critical to watch: 

• We need a US Senator who respects abortion rights and will vote to block any future US Supreme Court nominations made by Donald Trump. We need votes in the Senate to remove members of the administration from office. 

• Ohio needs a governor who will put a stop to the weaponization of state government that was started by John Kasich and continued by Mike DeWine. The Ohio Department of Health should never again be allowed to target abortion providers. 

• The Supreme Court of Ohio is the final stop for many of the legal challenges we’ve described above. Two seats are up for grabs – we need justices on the court who will fully enforce the Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment, not those who would work to undermine it. 

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Threats from the Feds 

Trump’s administration is packed with anti-abortion extremists, and the most visible attempt to interfere with abortion access has been seen in efforts by the FDA to stop Americans from accessing medication abortion through telemedicine and by mail.  

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Still reading? 

See, I told you your support was critical. You’ve been standing with us at every step. Whether you’ve signed the petition in 2023 or even collected signatures; if you’ve attended a rally, emailed your lawmakers, or testified in person; if you’ve donated to make this work possible… every effort counts.  

On behalf of every abortion patient relying on these legal protections to be able to access care, we’re so very grateful to you for your work.  

Keep it up. 

Name: Ricky Olivares-Vincent, Esq.
Pronouns: she/her/ella

I believe bodily autonomy is fundamental to freedom, equality, and opportunity. Protecting abortion access means ensuring that every person has the power to shape their future, safeguard their health, and live with dignity. This is about self-determination and trusting people to make the most personal decisions of their lives without political interference.

Fun fact about me: I can map out the perfect F1 pit strategy while debugging a Linux install.

On June 10, the Ohio Legislature wrapped up what is hopefully their last week of session before a very long summer break. There was a LOT going on with abortion rights, sex education, voting rights, and Medicaid in the last days and hours of the legislature… mostly bad of course.  

Here is a rundown of their final actions: 

Amended House Bill 324, that would ban the use of telemedicine for mifepristone, one of the medications used in the medication abortion protocol. The changes made to the bill make it impossible to use telemedicine for any drug approved by the FDA but required to have additional monitoring through the FDA’s “Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy” or REMS program. The REMS program exists for the FDA to use the best available scientific evidence to reduce the risk for certain medications but also ensure patient access to the medications. The FDA removed the in-person requirement from the REMS protocol for mifepristone first and 2021, an finalized that change in 2023 – finding that the evidence showed that there was no medical reason to require an in-person visit. Instead of actually addressing the real challenges Ohioans have in accessing health care services the Ohio legislature is instead pushing this bill – telling medical experts that it knows better than them how healthcare should be delivered to their patients.

Opponent testimony hearing on House Bill 347, a NEW 24-hour state imposed waiting period for abortion with required misinformation scripts for doctors to give their patients. We joined our friends at Ohio Women’s Alliance, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio and medical experts in testifying against this dangerous bill. They did not vote on this bill in committee last week – but we expect them to take it up during the lame duck session this November and December. 

Passed an amended version of Sub Senate Bill 276 which now includes a requirement that schools teach the “Success Sequence” in public schools. This curriculum is pushed by conservative anti-abortion organizations and is simply just a rebranding of failed abstinence only sex-education programs. The amendment was released just hours before the committee vote. Rep Sean Brennan, the ranking member on the Education Committee said in his floor speech: “[This amendment is] a simplistic standard that fails to reflect the real struggles of so many Ohioans. The bill is dangerous, not because it promotes hard work, but because it reduces life’s complexities to a single path and does not factor in circumstances often beyond one’s control.” Brennan then shared the story of his own family that because of circumstances beyond his mother’s control forced them to not be able to follow this “sequence.” 

Passed Senate Bill 315, which became the vehicle which the legislature used to fast track changes to the Medicaid program. The bill started as a proposal to better protect SNAP (aka food stamp) recipients against their balances being stolen off their cards This is all in response to a blogger’s claims that there was rampant fraud in Ohio’s system. Hundreds of Ohioans, members of the disability rights community, their family members and loved ones, came down to the statehouse to testify against the deadly changes that were initially proposed in this bill. Fortunately, most of the worst provisions were removed from the bill before its passage, but once again the republican majority in Ohio used inaccurate information to attack programs that literally keep people in our state alive.  Rep Rachel Baker said it best during her floor speech on the bill – “No Ohioan should ever have to come to the Ohio Legislature and beg for dignity … not being harmful is the absolute bare minimum of our duties, preventing a disaster is not an achievement.”  

Attacked voting rights in TWO separate proposals: 

Senate Joint Resolution 10 is a proposed constitutional amendment that would put Ohio’s existing requirement that a voter present ID to vote in person permanently into Ohio’s Constitution. Ohio already has some of the most restrictive voter ID laws – and now republicans want to put them into the constitution – making it nearly impossible to update as technology and systems improve. Because this is a constitutional amendment Ohio voters will be voting on this proposal on their ballot in November and it will only go into effect if passed by the majority of voters. 

House Bill 472 was amended to create a confusing and disjointed process for requiring a person to produce a photo ID to vote by mail. The original bill was introduced to allow homeless Ohioans to get IDs and any documents needed to obtain a photo ID for free — a very good thing. It also got hijacked last week with horrible Republican policy. This will impact thousands of older, disabled, and rural voters across our state who rely on vote by mail to have their voices heard in our democracy.  

If you have some time today, please call Gov. Mike DeWine at 614-466-3555 and tell him to VETO House Bill 472 and Senate Bill 276 and protect Ohioans. 

Name: Autumn Francisco, LISW-S
Pronouns: she/her

Autumn is the President of the Abortion Forward board of directors!

As a social worker, I believe access to abortion is essential because sexual health and healthcare access are fundamental to wellbeing. Stigma often prevents honest conversations about sexual health from happening, which only deepens misinformation and barriers to care. Protecting abortion access is part of ensuring that folks can make informed decisions and receive the healthcare they need without shame.

Fun fact about me: I love Pilates!

On Monday, we celebrated the early exit of now-former Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. Having prematurely excused himself from the primary race to be the Republican nominee for governor, Dave apparently realized he wasn’t wanted by either the citizens or his party so he quit his job. Sad!

Here’s a reminder of some the low points of Yost’s time in office, which is why he is the worst state attorney general in the country:

• During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, tried to block Ohioans from accessing time-sensitive, life-saving essential abortion care.
• Pushed courts to block abortion access in Ohio on the very day that Roe was overturned by SCOTUS in 2022. It was at Yost’s request that the 6-week abortion ban was enacted until legal action blocked it 83 days later.
• Went on FOX News to deny the actual existence of an underage rape victim in a high profile case that drew attention to the damage caused by the 6-week abortion ban. 
• In October, 2023, wrote a 13-page memo outlining his personal opinions why voters should reject Issue 1 to protect abortion access in Ohio. This document was inappropriately published by his state office on the first day of early voting, an action which multiple journalists told us was an unfair interference in an election.
• Pushed appeals in multiple legal challenges against Ohio’s now-unconstitutional abortion bans and restrictions, instead of respecting the rights of Ohio voters to protect abortion access. Indeed, most of these cases are titled defendant “v. Yost.”