People were granted the constitutional right to an abortion with the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. Since then, most states have imposed restrictions on abortion that make it more difficult for people to access the healthcare they need. In Ohio, there are several restrictions on abortion that are specific to our state.
Ohio has a mandatory 24-hour waiting period. Meaning that a patient is required to meet with a doctor to receive information about the procedure at least 24 hours prior to the actual abortion being performed. This restriction disproportionately targets and affects lower-income individuals. The vast majority of Ohioans live in a county without an abortion clinic, meaning that they may have to travel long distances to visit a doctor. They are then faced with the choice of either paying to stay for at least one night in a hotel in the city where the clinic is located or make the trip twice. A restriction as simple as this can make an abortion out of the question for anyone who doesn’t live close to a clinic and can’t afford to pay for a hotel or drive a long distance more than once.
Minors seeking an abortion may have even more barriers prohibiting them from accessing safe healthcare. If the patient is under the age of 18 their parent or guardian is required to attend the initial visit and the procedure with them, as well as provide their written permission for the procedure to occur. This restriction again targets low-income individuals, in addition to people whose parents’ views differ from their own. A family who can’t afford to have a parent or guardian take off work for both the day of the initial visit and the day of the procedure may not be able to allow their child to have an abortion. Another issue with this restriction is that a minor who wishes to have an abortion may be stopped from doing so if their parent or guardian does not want them to. Just because a person is not an adult by American standards does not mean that they should have any less agency over their body than someone who is "of age."
Those who get their insurance through a state health exchange plan under the Affordable Care Act are also at a disadvantage when it comes to seeking abortions. In Ohio these plans can only cover abortions in cases of rape, incest and if the patient’s life is endangered. Anyone who has this kind of insurance and does not have one of these reasons for seeking an abortion would be forced to pay for the procedure themselves.
Abortions can cost up to $1,500 within the first trimester and become increasingly expensive thereafter. Note that the poverty line of a two-person household is $16,020. If you didn't feel like doing the math, a $1,500 abortion would make up at least 10 percent of the family's income, which is something hardly any family, regardless of socioeconomic standing, can afford to lose.
The most recent addition to Ohio’s abortion restrictions is a 20-week ban, which was signed into law in December 2016 and will take effect in March 2017. It states that no abortions can be performed once the fetus has reached 20 weeks gestation. The only exceptions made here are when the mother’s life is at risk; there is nothing in the law that states any exceptions must be made if the fetus is the result of rape or incest. Any health care providers that do perform an abortion after the 20-week mark that can’t prove the person's life was in danger will be charged with a fourth-degree felony. People can have a variety of reasons for seeking abortions that can occur after this time and none of these reasons should be discounted simply because the decision arises after a certain point in time.
By using unnecessary restrictions to target the most vulnerable people seeking abortions, often minors and lower-income individuals, lawmakers can and have gotten away with unfairly restricting access to safe abortion. Ohio’s restrictions all use a different strategy, but they have one thing in common: they interfere with the aforementioned constitutional right to have an abortion.
