Columbus — The Ohio General Assembly has passed Senate Bill 23, which will effectively end access to all abortion care in Ohio if enacted.
NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Executive Director Kellie Copeland said: “Today, the GOP majorities in the Ohio House and Senate voted to virtually outlaw abortion and drag us into a dystopian nightmare where people are forced to continue pregnancies regardless of the harm that may come to them or their family. We will stand in support of Ohio’s abortion providers as they challenge this attack on the public health in court. We will stand with Ohioans as they seek the abortion care they need.
“The passage of this six-week ban on safe, legal, accessible, and affordable abortion is not the will of the majority. It is the act of the minority which abused their authority to gerrymander Ohio’s legislative districts to give them the power to force their out-of-touch ideology on our state. We will work day and night to upend this attack on democracy to ensure that Ohio will once again have fair elections that result in elected officials that share our values and support reproductive freedom.”
In a media event held before the House vote, pro-choice advocates were joined by members of the Ohio House Democratic Caucus in speaking against the bill.
Ashley Underwood represented NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio at the event: “Those of us born with wombs are not voiceless vessels. We are not incubators. We are not the concubines of movements whose moral compass instructs them to deny us autonomy. Our bodies should not be treated as the sole piece of incriminating evidence when conception is the result of violation and violence. And yet, each time the Ohio legislature further restricts abortion access for the thousands of constituents who need it, the state of Ohio treats us as such.
“Abortion is healthcare. Abortion is a life saving procedure. Abortion is moral. And good people have abortions.”
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