Ohio clinics close, abortions decline amid restrictions
Both sides agree the added limits and hurdles placed on
Seven of 16 Ohio abortion providers have either closed since 2011 or curtailed abortion offerings, while an eighth, in
The plunge places
Abortion foes call the decisions of
Ohio Right to Life President
"It's a combination of a lot of things," he said. "Our society's changing. More and more women are choosing life."
Abortion rights advocates, however, say
NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio executive director
"On abortion, for decades it has been incredibly conservative," she said. "It's one of the states people look to, to see what the next restriction is going to look like."
Since 2011, when Republicans reclaimed both chambers of
Ohio Right to Life and its allies have announced plans to introduce additional restrictions. A twice-defeated "heartbeat bill" backed by a separate group, which would effectively ban abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy, also has been reintroduced.
Mann said
"I had a fetal heartbeat and it was very, very hard to get medical attention in
Mann has taken to describing her experience as "a complicated miscarriage" rather than an abortion — saying the stigma and pre-conceived notions attached to the word hinder productive debate.
Abortion rights supporters say
Copeland rejects the suggestion that a reduced demand for abortions is prompting the supply of
"If that were the case, and we've seen roughly half of our clinics close, the corollary you'd think would be we'd see roughly half the procedures — and that's not the case," she said. "These laws have all been about creating these false hurdles for clinics to have to jump through in order to provide safe, legal abortion care to their patients."
Contributing to this report were
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