CV NEWS FEED // A Christian news outlet recently outlined the devastating effects of Ohio’s constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion as a right and pro-life activists’ efforts to counter rising abortion numbers.
The amendment passed in December 2023. That year, the state had performed record numbers of abortions as surrounding states passed legislation protecting the unborn, according to an October 15 report from World News.
In 2023, 22,000 abortions were performed in Ohio, the highest in a decade, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Of those procedures, 2,771 were performed on out-of-state women, the highest since 2005 and more than double the number of out-of-state abortions compared to 2022.
In 2022, in the months following Dobbs vs. Jackson, Ohio had enforced a Heartbeat Law, protecting unborn children from abortion once there was a detectable heartbeat (around 6 weeks gestation). However, the law was blocked in September 2022.
Cincinnati, Ohio, is the birthplace of the pro-life organization Heartbeat International. Laura Strietmann, executive director of Cincinnati Right to Life, said that in light of the state’s long pro-life legacy, the rising abortion numbers are “horribly sad.”
“It just feels very dystopian to know that the culture in Ohio has been so distorted by individuals that are so confused on the life issue,” she said.
Streitmann added, “In Cincinnati, there is a bloodbath going on.”
Adam Schad, Cincinnati Right to Life’s community outreach director, told World News that he thinks about 20% of Cincinnati Planned Parenthood’s clientele on any given day come from other states. He estimates around 15% of the clinic’s daily customers are from Kentucky.
Schad reported on the efforts of the city’s Right to Life group, which took a brief break from sidewalk counseling to combat pro-abortion legislation in 2023. Now, the group sends more than 30 people to the clinic three times a week. Schad estimates that they interact with 20-25 people per day.
Cincinnati Right to Life has hosted virtual baby showers, anonymously providing registry items to women who choose life. They hand out gift bags and resources to women at the entrances and exits of the local Planned Parenthood.
Ohio’s Montgomery County also has seen a drastic increase in abortions. In 2023, 4,283 abortions took place, which is 1,092 more than occurred in 2022.
Margie Christie, executive director of Dayton Right to Life (Dayton is a city in Montgomery County), also cited out-of-state residents as a factor in the increasing abortion numbers. Christie says she thinks that Ohio pro-lifers have to focus on aiding pregnant women, instead of lobbying. She doubts that they will effectively change the legislation in Ohio.
“I think that was one of the unfortunate things that happened with Roe v. Wade is we got everything so wrapped up in the law,” said Christie. “And we kind of lost sight of — you know — it’s in the trenches, it’s out on the sidewalks in front of the abortion facilities. It’s in pregnancy centers. I mean, it’s the one-on-one with women, ‘Hey, you can do this’ messaging that’s going to change hearts.”