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From our Operations Director Ryan Conway:

Finding a healthcare provider you trust can be a stressful experience for anyone.

That experience becomes even more challenging when you’re looking for a provider who respects your identity and understands the importance of gender-affirming care, especially when our medical system is so preoccupied with forcing people into binary boxes.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, it became increasingly clear that our community needed a way to cut through all of the nonsense and thinly veiled transphobia to find a provider that earnestly and wholeheartedly integrated their understanding of LGBTQ+ needs into their practice.

As I talked to other members of the LGBTQ+ community about their healthcare journeys, I found providers tabling at local pride events, searched through online databases, and found websites that provided useful products and education. I started compiling a list of LGBTQ+ friendly resources that could provide a great starting point if you’re looking to begin your own healthcare journey or are trying to help a loved one in need.

You don’t have to start your journey from square 1.

Check it out on our Trans and Non-Binary Resources Page!

The Toledo Blade reported on how the Supreme Court of Ohio races are shaping up in the 2024 election. As the court battles over Ohio’s abortion bans move forward, our team is working to educate voters on the importance of judicial races that voters frequently overlook.

Our Jaime Miracle was quoted:

“A broad number of voters turned out to put reproductive rights in the constitution,” said Jaime Miracle, deputy director of Abortion Forward, the rebranded former Pro-Choice Ohio.

“Our gerrymandered legislature is not going to do anything to undo the decades of harm its abortion restrictions and laws have caused in this state,” she said. “The court is the only real path forward at this point to stop the enforcement of all of the abortion restrictions that are now in our minds unconstitutional.”

“We’ve been talking about the court for a very long time and how keyed in the public is on this,” Ms. Miracle said. “We’re transitioning from paying attention to the U.S. Supreme Court to looking closer at the Ohio Supreme Court, which is going to decide whether the reproductive freedom amendment is enforced or ignored.”

Read more at ToledoBlade.com

With the ever-changing news cycle and plenty of content to doomscroll, feeling hopeless is valid, and embracing those feelings is okay. But there are plenty of exciting ways to lift your spirits and make a difference. How about crafting a “happy playlist” filled with your absolute favorite feel-good songs? Let those tunes turn your day into a mini celebration, no matter where you are.

Or try your hand at art therapy—grab some paints or markers and let your creativity run wild on paper. It’s all about letting those emotions out in a vibrant, colorful way. For a bit of advocacy magic, look into volunteering with Abortion Forward and make a direct impact on abortion access. Find like-minded community at our monthly Happy Hour sessions across Ohio. You could also be a part of Patients to Advocates, a paid, 9-month leadership development program that prepares Ohioans who have had abortions for civic engagement around reproductive health, rights, and justice!

Combining these joyful self-care activities with impactful advocacy can give you a powerful sense of purpose and show you just how much positivity you can bring to the world, even on the toughest days.

Are you looking for a safe place to unwind and meet other folks in your community who are also pro-abortion? Join us for a Repro Happy Hour!

Over the past several months, the team at Abortion Forward has hosted ten Repro Happy Hours – from Akron to Dayton, we’ve been all over the great state of Ohio visiting fun local bars and meeting great folks like you. These events have brought organizers, students, teachers, and activists together to connect and form a community.

Whether you’re looking for more pro-abortion friends, to network with other progressive folks, or just need a safe space to laugh and relax, Repro Happy Hours are the place for you. Hope to catch you at the next one!

Last November, Ohioans voted to enshrine reproductive freedom in our state constitution. Ever since this victory, many of us have been asked, what is there left to do?  

“Since abortion is legal, isn’t your work here done?” 

No! Of course not! Although our win was monumental, there is still so much work to do to ensure that all Ohioans have equitable, stigma-free abortion access.  

Ohio still has many medically unnecessary barriers in place that intentionally make it more difficult for folks to get the care they need in a timely manner, including the 24-hour waiting period that our friends at the ACLU of Ohio and Planned Parenthood are currently in court to overturn.

Under anti-abortion governors Kasich and DeWine and their countless restrictions and TRAP laws (targeted restrictions on abortion providers), the majority of Ohio’s clinics were forced to shut their doors and in 2024, our state only has *9* abortion clinics remaining. This has resulted in patients having to wait days or even weeks, or in some cases having to flee to nearby legal states to get the care they need.

In case that wasn’t enough to convince you, our state legislature continues to provide millions ($7 million in 2024 alone) of dollars to anti-abortion centers, or “CPCs”. CPCs are unregulated “medical” facilities that exist to spread fake information and discourage folks from having abortions – and our state government bankrolls them to do exactly that. 

As you can see, we still have lots of work to do! These examples barely touch the surface of anti-abortion debauchery that exists in this state and Ohio’s anti-abortion politicians continue to enact horrendous legislation that takes away the bodily autonomy of Ohioans. It’s up to us to stop them. So how do we do that? 

Volunteer with us! 

Join us in the never-ending fight for abortion access in Ohio. We have many volunteer opportunities coming up! Help us spread the word at a community event or festival and have real, stigma busting conversations. Or join a phone/text bank or door canvass and help us elect pro-abortion candidates to all levels of government. 

Find different volunteer opportunities on our event page! More are added all the time so check back periodically: https://abortionforward.org/take-action/events/ 

Have an event idea? What to get more involved and don’t know where to start? Reach out to your local field organizer and we’d be happy to talk to you! 

Mya Ray (they/them), Northern Ohio – mya@abortionforward.org 

Aubrey Crabb (she/her), Central and Southern Ohio – aubrey@abortionforward.org