The number of abortions performed in Ohio continued its steady two-decade decline in 2018, dropping 2 percent and reaching its lowest level since the state began tracking the data more than 40 years ago.
The Ohio Department of Health on Tuesday reported 20,425 induced pregnancy terminations in 2018, 468 fewer than in 2017. About 1,500, or 7 percent, were in Lucas County.
The annual report showed 56 percent of abortions involved pregnancies of less than nine weeks, while 30 percent involved pregnancies of nine to 12 weeks. Less than 2 percent of abortions, 488, were performed between 19 and 20 weeks.
Nearly 70 percent of abortions performed in 2018 used surgical methods. The remainder were medication-induced abortions. Medical complications were reported by 27 women.
The number of abortions in Ohio has fallen dramatically since a peak of 45,000 in 1982, and since the state started keeping records of pregnancy terminations in 1976, a year when roughly 33,000 abortions were recorded.
A long-time hot-button issue in Ohio, the two sides in the abortion debate had differing takeaways from the 2018 report. Anti-abortion rights activists were encouraged by the declining figures and the support lawmakers had shown this year for anti-abortion legislation. Advocates on the other said said the procedure remains accessible in Ohio, while at the same time the Affordable Care Act has helped more women obtain birth control.
“This report goes to show what we as a state already know: even as more Ohio women are rejecting abortion than ever before, much still needs to be done to protect life,” said Stephanie Ranade Krider, Ohio Right to Life vice president. “With the strong pro-life leadership of Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly, we have been able to continue to fight for the protection of the unborn with unprecedented success.”
In 2019, Ohio joined several other states in passing a “heartbeat” anti-abortion law banning the procedure as early as six weeks into pregnancy, but a federal judge in July temporarily blocked the law from taking effect. Supporters are hoping a challenge reaches the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn all or part of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that deemed abortion a constitutional right.
“It is imperative that GOP leaders in the Ohio Statehouse and Congress stop their crusade to close abortion clinics, fund fake clinics, and de-fund Planned Parenthood family planning centers. When individuals have access to the healthcare they need, whether abortion care, birth control, or prenatal care, our people, our families, our communities are healthier,” said NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Executive Director Kellie Copeland.
Ohio now has nine abortion clinics, according to NARAL. Six offer surgical abortions.
Last month, Toledo’s only abortion provider, Capital Care Network, surrendered its license to perform surgical abortions. Since then, the clinic has performed exclusively medication-induced abortions up to 10 weeks of pregnancy.
The steep decline in Ohio’s abortion clinics — the state had 45 clinics in 1992, according to the ACLU — has been attributed to several factors: a law requiring clinics to obtain written transfer agreements with hospitals in the event of complications, as well as dwindling birth rates and expanded access to contraception.
Capital Care has struggled to meet the transfer requirement since 2013, when the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio hospital, opted not to renew its agreement with the clinic. It eventually teamed with ProMedica Toledo Hospital last year. Under state law, public hospitals are barred from entering into transfer agreements with abortion clinics, making it harder for some clinics to find partners.
Ohio Right to Life said it’s currently advocating two bills introduced this year in the General Assembly: the Unborn Child Dignity Act, which dictates guidelines for the disposal of fetal remains after a miscarriage, still birth, or abortion, and the Abortion Pill Reversal Information Act, requiring doctors who prescribe a certain medication abortion to also provide information about drugs that can reverse the outcome. Abortion rights advocates argue the procedure is not clinically effective or safe.
First Published October 1, 2019, 2:55 p.m.
