Emilie Schneider
For The Post
For women in Southeast Ohio, abortion services are limited with the two closest health centers more than an hour away.
In Athens, Holzer Clinic and O'Bleness Memorial Hospital do not offer abortion services, but nurses at O'Bleness will meet with patients to discuss the available options.
For women on campus, the Women's Center in Baker University Center provides literature about reproductive rights, including abortion, said Director Susanne Dietzel.
The center tries to provide women with as much information as possible
but there are very few reproductive choices in this area she said.
Southeast Ohio is not the only area with limited options.
In 2005, 90 percent of the state's 88 counties had no abortion provider, according to a report from the
Guttmacher Institute, a sexual and reproductive health advocate.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the nation's largest sexual and reproductive services provider, operates three heath centers in Ohio that provide abortion services, according to their Web site.
The remaining 34 centers, including the only one in Southeast Ohio, offer abortion referrals or emergency contraception, also known as
the morning-after pill, said Beth Morrow Lonn, chief operating officer at Planned Parenthood.
The emergency contraceptive Plan B, which some people consider to be a type of abortion pill, was approved for 17-year-olds without a prescription by the Food and Drug Administration on April 22. Plan B contains a high dose of birth control drugs that prevent ovulation or fertilization and is effective if taken within 72 hours. It does not terminate an existing pregnancy.
There are two different abortion procedures available to women. The first is the medical abortion, which is two courses of medication that induce a spontaneous abortion, similar to a miscarriage. The medical abortion cannot be administered after a woman is more than 63 days, or nine weeks, pregnant.
At Planned Parenthood facilities the proportion of medical abortions increased from 9 percent of eligible women in 2001 to 24 percent in 2004, according to a report from the Guttmacher Institute.
The advantage in taking the abortion pill is that it's more private Morrow Lonn said. They can be at home with friends or family and recover more quickly.
The other type of abortion is an in-clinic abortion, which surgically removes fetal tissue from the uterus. The in-clinic abortion can be performed up to 16 weeks after a woman's last period.
The two closest health clinics that offer those abortion services are located in Columbus and Cincinnati, Morrow Lonn said.
I think the biggest hindrance for women is the travel time
she said. It's an extra burden for women who live further away from abortion health centers.
Ohio law also states that women receiving an abortion must consult with a physician at least 24 hours prior to the medical or in-clinic abortion, Morrow Lonn said.
There are potential risks with an abortion, including abdominal pain and cramping, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
More severe complications, which occur in less than 1 out of 100 early abortions, include heavy bleeding, infection, an incomplete abortion, damage to the uterus and other internal organs and in extreme cases, death, according to Option Line, which provides unplanned pregnancy and abortion information.
In addition to physical complications following an abortion, women might experience anxiety, depression, sleeping problems and substance abuse.
With few resources in Southeast Ohio, Morrow Lonn said she thinks women are unaware of their options.
Generally there is a lack of knowledge about pregnancy options
even emergency contraceptives
she said. But I hope women will at least look into all of their options about pregnancy.
-Emilie Schneider also authored this article, es204405@ohiou.edu
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Jessica Neidhard
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