Ohio legislation to ban abortions after 20 week mark

Story by Chelsey Milkovich and Martin Harp
Audio Story by Jenson Strock

A new legislation is being brought forward that could possibly add further restrictions on abortions in Ohio.

The legislation sponsored by Ohio Right to Life would prohibit the abortion procedure in Ohio 20 weeks into pregnancy.

The U.S. Supreme Court currently holds that the state of Ohio cannot prohibit abortions unless a fetus is considered viable outside the womb with testing by doctors. The current ban in Ohio sits at 24 weeks.

Northeast Ohio OB/GYN Beth Reynolds, D.O. practices at Robinson Memorial Hospital and Medical Arts Facility in Ravenna, Ohio. Although Dr. Reynolds does not practice surgical abortions, she stands by her neutrality when it comes to being pro-life or pro-choice.

“I am by no means pro-abortion and I stand behind saying I am neutral in my beliefs towards abortion,” said Dr. Reynolds. “Although, I do believe in giving a woman in a horrific circumstance the ability to choose the fate of the child before the fetus is viable.”

Mark Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, said the legislation views are not in the minority with immense support coming from the Ohio Senate.

“It really speaks for itself, we have been going to work hard,” said Gonidakis. “We aren’t in the minority. In the Ohio Senate which has 33 members, we have support from 24 of them.”

Four years ago, Ohio Right to Life sponsored House Bill 78. The bill banned abortions after a doctor could determine the fetus could live outside of the womb, typically when a pregnancy is around the 23 to 24 week mark.

Gonidakis said the legislation is going forward as the pain capable act, because at the 20 week mark is when fetuses in the womb can feel pain.

“Scientists and doctors have proven that a child in the womb can feel pain,” said Gonidakis. “The methods done are extremely painful for the child, with vacuums that can cause dismemberment from suction.”

According to the Ohio Department of Health, in 2013 there were 23,000 abortions in the State of Ohio. This is the lowest number of abortions in Ohio in the past ten years.

In the past two years, Ohio’s abortion clinics have lowered immensely, dropping from 14 to 8 due to the restrictions on abortions that were passed in 2013 by the Republican Legislature. This number of clinics is divided up by three in Northeast Ohio, two in Southeast Ohio, one in Toledo and two in Columbus.

Currently, the three abortion clinics in Northeast Ohio that are currently performing abortions Preterm in Cleveland, the Northeast Ohio Women’s Center in Cuyahoga Falls and Planned Parenthood in Bedford Heights.

According to The Quinnipiac University Poll in November 2014, 60% of Americans would support a ban on abortions after the 20 week mark. 59% of women voters said they would support such a ban.

Gonidakis said Ohio Right to Life plans on chipping away at the abortion issue bit by bit until it is completely gone and solved.

“We of course would like to see abortion be illegal in general, but we know we have to work in steps,” said Gonidakis. “There’s no law that says it has to happen in my lifetime however. Even Obama said in his State of the Union speech that abortion and teen pregnancy is at an all time low. We believe in one step at a time.”

If the ban succeeds, this may result in less funding to abortion clinics and the possibility of more of abortion clinics closing in Ohio.

The number of abortion clinics closing in Ohio may be highly related to the skill the performing physicians may have lacked during operation, according to Dr. Reynolds.

“The number of physicians performing abortions has gone down tremendously due to lack of education and skill,” said Dr. Reynolds. “I believe we can avoid receiving more restrictions on abortions and abortion clinics closing if the most educated physicians stay in practice. These surgeries are a serious risk and can determine the future of abortions if not handled precisely.”

As for the ban on pregnancies after 20 weeks into pregnancy, Dr. Reynolds said the movement may have much larger effect on pregnancies in the future.

“I’m not sure that creating this ban will keep people from undergoing “back room abortions,” and that is extremely overwhelming to think about as a doctor,” said Dr Reynolds. She explained this procedure as a dangerous, high risk surgery where patients take the abortion process into their own hands when they are not provided the services.

Gonidakis said contraception should always be an option, and that Ohio Right to Life doesn’t oppose it in any way.

“If you don’t want to get pregnant then take the steps to avoid it,” said Gonidakis. “There are so many options and so many ways to avoid getting pregnant. It’s available everywhere, so it should always be an option.”

Gonidakis said the bill should be introduced in the next week with hopes of getting it on the governor’s desk by July 1, 2015.

Proposals on the issue in Ohio are getting even stricter, however. One proposed bill would ban abortions once a heartbeat is detected. This usually occurs around 6 weeks.