(Columbus, Ohio)—The Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Freedom PAC (OPRR) filed its first campaign finance report today with the Ohio Secretary of State, showing the campaign committee has raised more than $380,000 from over 600 contributors to cover the initial expenses of the campaign. Significant contributions were received from a number of healthcare providers and prominent business leaders in Ohio. Ninety percent of contributions are from Ohio.
The PAC was established to raise funds for ProtectChoiceOhio.com (PCO), the diverse, nonpartisan coalition working to place an amendment on the 2023 General Election ballot that would enshrine reproductive freedom and abortion access in the Ohio constitution.
Contributions received to date have funded the first phase of the effort which included drafting the proposed amendment, conducting public opinion research, and building the infrastructure and assembling the team that will enable PCO to plan and execute a successful statewide ballot issue campaign.
“We have achieved our fundraising goal for phase one of our campaign,” said. Dr. Marcela Azevedo , OPRR president. “We continue to make progress and are encouraged by the large number of individuals, business leaders, and organizations who share our commitment to placing the amendment on the ballot in 2023.”
“Ohio’s extreme abortion bans have created a medical crisis in our state,” said Dr. Lauren Beene, OPRR executive director. “As physicians, we see the devastating impact every day. We have a moral obligation to ensure patients and doctors — not politicians and the government — are the ones making decisions about reproductive health care. Raising the funds necessary to place an amendment on the November 2023 ballot and secure its passage will enable us to achieve that goal.”
Submitting the text and summary of a proposed constitutional amendment to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Ohio Ballot Board for review and approval are the next steps in phase one of the campaign.
PCO is already planning and fundraising for phase two: collecting the 413,446 valid signatures needed to place the amendment on the ballot.
“We are recruiting and training a large corps of enthusiastic volunteers who are eager to begin collecting signatures in communities across Ohio,” Dr. Azevedo said. “We’re confident Ohio voters will have the opportunity to determine the future of reproductive freedom and abortion access in our state in 2023.”