Author: gabrielmann

Akron — Pro-Choice Ohio Executive Director Kellie Copeland released the following statement in reaction to the use of chemical weapons by the City of Akron against its citizens: “As a life-long resident of the Akron-area I am horrified by the actions by the Akron Police Department, both in shooting unarmed Jayland Walker at least 60 times, and in tear gassing protesters. These human rights abuses must stop and those responsible must swiftly be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

“Reproductive Justice, a framework created by Black women, is the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent children in safe and sustainable communities. There is no Reproductive Justice in Akron so long as Black parents, and other families of color, live in constant fear that a routine traffic stop can end the way it did for Jayland Walker.

“As the Akron Police Department must surely know, tear gas can cause miscarriages in pregnant people, and can cause other reproductive health care problems. It is banned in war under the Geneva Convention, which are internationally agreed upon rules of warfare. Despite this, the Akron Police Department has yet again used tear gas in our community. We demand that Mayor Horrigan immediately ban this dangerous and inhumane practice.”

Pro-Choice Ohio supporters have been asked to contact Mayor Horrigan via prochoiceohio.org/banteargas

Columbus — The US District Court has dissolved the injunction against the six-week abortion ban, blocking access to most abortions in the state.

Pro-Choice Ohio Executive Director Kellie Copeland said: “The court may have made this decision, but it happened because of malicious men like Mike DeWine, Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. Dave Yost and Mike DeWine have no regard for wellbeing of Ohioans. The swiftness of this ruling provides patients with appointments tomorrow with no notice.

“People who have appointments need to contact their provider. If you are unable to have an abortion in Ohio, your clinic will connect you with an abortion fund that will assist you in traveling to access abortion care in another state. If you need an abortion, there is a community here to support you. Mike DeWine and Dave Yost do not give a damn about you, but we do.

“To everyone who supports reproductive freedom, please donate to local abortion funds and advocacy organizations, make sure you are registered to vote, and in November. Vote for Nan Whaley for governor.”

Columbus — The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 6-3 overturning over 50 years of precedent in Roe and Casey, according to today’s new decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. While the ruling applies to the 15-week abortion ban from Mississippi, this ruling from the high court returns the power to the state level to decide whether a person can legally obtain an abortion. The decision does not have an immediate impact on the availability of abortion in Ohio.

Pro-Choice Ohio Executive Director Kellie Copeland said: “The most important thing that Ohioans need to know today is that abortion is still legal in Ohio. There are nine clinics across the state and several in neighboring states that can safely and legally provide abortion care for patients. Today’s ruling is devastating, but it is not the end.

“If you want to know who’s to blame for this attack on our basic human rights, look at Governor Mike DeWine and members of the Republican Party. They have spent decades methodically passing legislation and litigating cases to dismantle Roe v. Wade and destroy protections for our bodily autonomy, access to abortion, contraception, and comprehensive sex education. In Ohio, they gerrymandered their way into power, and have defied the Ohio Constitution, the Supreme Court of Ohio, and the majority of Ohio voters in a desperate attempt to hold onto that power. They intend to rule Ohioans, not represent us. We must not submit to that tyranny.

“Mike DeWine, Dave Yost, and Republicans in the Ohio Legislature are doing everything in their power to ban all abortions with no exceptions. If they succeed, it will have a disproportionately harmful impact on Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, the young, people with disabilities, LGBTQ and non-binary people, as well as those living in Appalachia and other rural communities. But make no mistake, it will touch all of us. Though some people may be able to travel out of state to access care, and others may be able access medications to safely manage their own abortions at home, others will not be so lucky. What will happen to the person who has to continue a pregnancy against their will? Or the person who has a serious pregnancy complication in Ohio and it is not legal for their doctor to save them? People have already faced criminal investigations for miscarriages. And what about people who are struggling with infertility when In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is no longer available in our state?

“Pro-Choice Ohio and our allies have fought, and will continue to fight, to keep abortion legal and accessible as long as possible, for as many as possible. We will fight to protect those who need abortion care, and those who provide that care from criminalization. We will never forsake them. The only strategy we are not willing to consider is surrender. We are the majority. We will prevail.”

Columbus — Nan Whaley has won the 2022 Democratic nomination for governor. She will appear on the November ballot opposite Mike DeWine amid a nationwide fight to decide whether abortion access will be upheld or blocked by the US Supreme Court. Pro-Choice Ohio endorsed Whaley early in the campaign.

Pro-Choice Ohio Executive Director Kellie Copeland said “Nan is who Ohio needs. We need a passionately pro-choice governor in Ohio, someone who will stop using the Ohio Department of Health as a weapon against abortion clinics. We need someone who will veto abortion bans passed by the state’s gerrymandered legislature. We need a governor who understands what is at stake and will fight to protect and expand abortion access, family planning, and quality affordable and child care.

“Mike DeWine has passed seven abortion bans and state policies against reproductive rights, including a six-week abortion ban. Just last week, he used an executive order to pay crisis pregnancy centers another $1.5 million so they can continue their plot of obstructing abortion access through misinformation campaigns. DeWine and the anti-choice Republicans must be stopped before they do more harm to Ohioans needing abortion access.”

In Akron, Pro-Choice Ohio issued our first ever endorsement in a federal race: “To ensure that everyone has the resources they need, from maternal healthcare, to childcare, to family planning, to abortion, there is no one I trust more to fight in Washington than Akron’s own Emilia Sykes. I’m thrilled to see her nomination and determined to do everything we can to help elect her to Congress.”

Columbus — A draft opinion from US Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito is reported to have been leaked, showing intent to directly overturn the abortion protections outlined in Roe v. Wade.

Pro-Choice Ohio Kellie Copeland said: “Though many expected this could be the Court’s decision, we must be clear that this is not yet an official decision. Nevertheless, the heartbreak, pain and fear are not diminished. To everyone who has had or provided an abortion, or fought to keep abortion legal and accessible, my message to you tonight is that we will never stop fighting for you and everyone else who needs or provides abortion care.

“If legal access to abortion is lost in Ohio, we know that the people most impacted will be Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, disabled folks, trans people, minors, and low-income Ohioans. We must, and will continue to fight back. There will be tough days ahead. But we will not be defeated, because we will not surrender.”

On Tuesday’s primary election, Copeland said: “Now is the time for champions, not just allies. That is why I am asking Democrats to vote for Nan Whaley for governor. She has been in the fight with us for years against Mike DeWine’s crusade to close abortion clinics in our state, and we need her as Ohio’s next governor.”

On clinic availability, Copeland said: “For now, abortion is still legal in Ohio. If you know anyone who has an appointment, or needs an abortion, nine clinics across Ohio remain open to care for patients.” A full list of Ohio’s clinics is available at https://prochoiceohio.org/clinics/

Columbus — Hiding his actions late on a Friday afternoon, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine gave $1,500,000 taxpayer dollars from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund to anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers via the state’s Pregnancy and Parenting Program. The funds were transferred under Executive Order 2022-09D.

Pro-Choice Ohio Kellie Copeland: “Mike DeWine is using taxpayer dollars to curry political favor with anti-abortion groups ahead of the Republican primary. The fake clinics that get this money are unregulated, not bound by HIPPA privacy requirements, and they trade in stigma and misinformation to dissuade people from obtaining abortion care. These fake clinics are gearing up to launch intentionally confusing misinformation campaigns following the expected Supreme Court decisions on abortion expected in June. And if that wasn’t bad enough, these funds come from money that was earmarked for needy families and children. Shame on Mike DeWine.”

These funds are in addition to the $6,000,000 allocated to anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers in the 2021 state operating budget, House Bill 110 and funds given to that program by the sale of “Choose Life” license plates.

Akron, OH — The Pro-Choice Ohio board has unanimously voted to endorse Emilia Sykes for Ohio’s 13th Congressional district. This announcement comes weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling that could overturn or gut Roe v. Wade, which will threaten the legal right to an abortion here in Ohio and across the country.

Kellie Copeland, Executive Director of Pro-Choice Ohio said, “This endorsement is special, both because this is our first ever federal endorsement and because that endorsement is for Emilia Sykes. I have had the privilege to know and work with Emilia Sykes for over a decade, first when she interned with our organization while a graduate student doing important policy research on anti-choice crisis pregnancy centers, and most recently as the Minority Leader of the Ohio House of Representatives. Her personal integrity and expertise in public health and the law uniquely qualify her to represent our community during this pivotal period when access to abortion is so imperiled. Emilia Sykes understands that all attacks on abortion access disproportionately impact Black women and all women of color, young people, and transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. To ensure that everyone has the resources they need, from maternal healthcare, to childcare, to family planning, to abortion, there is no one I trust more to fight in Washington than Akron’s own Emilia Sykes.”

Pro-Choice Ohio endorses 100% pro-choice candidates who have satisfactorily completed our rigorous questionnaire. Pro-Choice Ohio is committed to protecting the full range of reproductive health options, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing safe, legal abortion.

Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
Pro-Choice Ohio, 11811 Shaker Blvd., Suite 210, Cleveland, OH 44120
Kellie Copeland, Executive Director