The state budget process in Ohio this year was long, confusing, and frankly one of the cruelest examples of how far our legislature will go to score points with their political base while simultaneously screwing over people in our state. We’ll have more to share about the final version of the bill next week. But recently some news was released that stopped us in our tracks: the final version of the state budget gave the Department of Children and Youth less funding for various programs and certain goals were having to be adjusted.
One of the goals listed for adjustment was Ohio’s dismal infant mortality rate. Under the initial version of the budget proposed by Governor DeWine, their goal was to reduce the rate from 7.1 per 1,000 births to 4.4 per 1,000 births. But because of the cuts the legislature made to the Governor’s budget, that goal was instead reduce from 7.1 to 6 deaths per 1,000 births. The so-called “pro-life” party reduced program funding to the point where the department had to reduce the number of lives that could be saved. How “pro-life” of them!
Rates are hard to picture, so let’s do some math: In 2024, there were 123,745 births in Ohio. At the current infant mortality rate (7.1 per 1,000 live births) that means approximately 879 babies tragically died before their first birthday. If the department’s initial goal of reducing the rate to 4.4 per 1,000 was achieved, that number would drop to 544. But with the revised goal of 6 per 1,000, we will only reduce that number to 742. Hundreds more babies could be at risk for death because the legislature cut the funding for this program by more than $26 million dollars over the next two years. According to the CDC Ohio ranks in the bottom 10 states for infant mortality rates. This has been a crisis for a long time now – and our legislature continues to underfund and ignore it.
But Jaime, you say, the state just doesn’t have that money to spend! Well, my friend, that is where you are wrong, because the state spent nearly the exact same amount ($25 million) funding anti-abortion fake health centers, also known as CPCs. Five million of those dollars are giving high tech ultrasound machines to these centers who do not have the expertise or staff to properly use them. A good friend of mine likes to say that “budgets are moral documents”. They show where the priorities are for the legislators who write and pass them. In giving $25 million dollars to centers who peddle misinformation and shame while leaving real providers and trusted community programs with pennies and a prayer, the Ohio legislature has made their priorities abundantly clear – and our wellbeing is at the bottom of the list.
Want to learn more about the harms caused by CPCs? Check out our latest research and information You can also check out some great new research from the Reproductive Health and Freedom Watch about the dangers of these centers conducting non-medical, non-diagnostic ultrasounds on people with untrained staff. Spoiler alert: a CPC in Massachusetts was sued because they endangered the life of a pregnant woman when they misdiagnosed an ectopic pregnancy. Yes, that’s right – the state of Ohio is giving fake health centers $5 million in funding to get fancy 3D ultrasound machines that could risk the health and well-being of the people who go to these centers for help.
Want to do more? Talk to your friends and family about the dangers of CPCs! Attend one of our upcoming Ramp Up for Repro trainings and learn how you can combat misinformation and abortion stigma.
