Mifepristone tablets. (Photo: Natalie Behring/Getty Images)
Even though Ohioans overwhelmingly protect access to abortion, Republican lawmakers are moving to restrict the procedure by eliminating telehealth prescriptions and mail-order pills.
Sponsors say their goal is not abortion specifically, but an boost in the number of drugs available by mail.
Ohio’s Bill 1 passed in November 2023 with 57% of the vote, adding reproductive rights to the state constitution.
He says Ohioans have the right to make their own decisions about abortion, contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriage care and continuing a pregnancy. The state cannot interfere with or punish someone for exercising this right.
Starting in 2024, the state’s 13 abortion clinics can prescribe the abortion pill during video visits with patients and even mail it directly to people’s homes.
At the Northeast Ohio Women’s Center, Dr. David Burkons says two-thirds of his patients have medical abortions rather than surgical abortions.
“People don’t have to say, ‘Well, I have to take off work to go to the clinic. I can get it in the mail. I can do it whenever I want,'” Burkons said. “It’s their schedule rather than ours, which obviously people really like.”
However, this form of access may soon be circumscribed.
“Medicines by mail have become much more common, and this is a good, common-sense, universally applicable bill,” said state Rep. Adam Mathews, D-Lebanon.
Matthews and state Rep. Meredith Craig, R-Smithville, have introduced Ohio House Bill 324, which would prevent mail-order prescriptions and telehealth visits for drugs that cause “serious side effects” in more than 5% of users.
Anti-abortion groups that testified in support of the bill cite a study by a right-wing think tank that listed Mifepristone, the most popular abortion drug, as having a grave impact on 10% of patients.
“If these drugs result in hospitalization of patients with sepsis or organ failure in 1 in 20 patients, then I think that should be a cause for concern, regardless of what the drug is used for,” Mathews said.
Burkons points to multiple studies, including data from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, that conclude the drugs are secure.
He added that the regulations were inconsistent with the constitution.
“They are letting politics get in the way of health care, and abortion is health care,” Burkons said.
When we asked this question, Mathews stated that it was not intended to be about abortion because it covers different classes of drugs such as antidepressants and opioids.
The Ohio Department of Health would decide which drugs meet that 5% threshold.
“You look at the Department of Health, insurance claims and the drug manufacturer’s own published studies,” Mathews explained.
It would require in-person visits to one of 13 clinics to receive the abortion pill, which Burkons said would reintroduce barriers to care.
“They’re trying to say, ‘We know more than women, we’re going to make it difficult or impossible for them to have access to this very, very effective method of health care,'” the doctor said.
It’s still early in the hearing process, but progressives say they’re prepared to sue if the bill passes.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau X AND Facebook.
This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
