Columbus — CNN and the New York Times have announced that Otterbein University in Ohio will host the October 15 Democratic primary debate.
NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Executive Director Kellie Copeland said: “Yesterday, we saw three solid hours of debate and zero questions about abortion. Democratic presidential candidates are coming to Ohio — a state whose gerrymandered legislature has passed 22 restrictions on abortion access and reproductive health care funding, and who has lost HALF of our abortion clinics in the past decade. It is imperative that CNN and New York Times moderators ask these candidates about their plans to increase abortion access, restore family planning funding, and combat our state’s Black infant and maternal mortality crisis. Reproductive health, including abortion care, is public health. We MUST hear from every candidate what they will do to protect that.”
The announcement comes in the same week that Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region will close two Cincinnati-area health care centers because of the gag rule placed on abortion providers who also use federal Title X funding for reproductive health care.
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