The Ohio Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Endorses Ohio Ballot Measure: The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety
For Release: April 27, 2023
COLUMBUS – Today, the Ohio Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG Ohio) endorsed The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety, a ballot initiative that creates a common-sense standard to abortion policy in Ohio, protecting the reproductive freedoms of patients from government interference. The proposed constitutional amendment would protect a right to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care with reasonable limits, and to keep extremist politicians out of Ohioans’ private and personal healthcare decisions.
“This common-sense amendment will restore and protect the vital reproductive rights that were guaranteed by Roe v. Wade for fifty years,” Dr. David Hackney, Chair of AGOG Ohio and Dr. Amy Burkett, the organization’s immediate past Chair said in a joint statement. “When Dobbs destroyed those rights and Ohio’s extreme abortion ban that does not include exceptions for rape, incest, or lethal fetal anomalies went into effect, the consequences were immediate and dire. The health and lives of patients across our state were put at risk and physicians faced the prospect of being arrested, charged, convicted of felonies, and jailed for providing standard, appropriate, evidence-based medical care. Enshrining reproductive freedom, including access to abortion, in the Constitution is the only way to ensure that this dangerous, intolerable scenario is never repeated in our state.”
“Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom celebrates this strong endorsement from the premier professional membership organization for obstetricians and gynecologists. Our amendment ensures that patients, not politicians, have the freedom to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions, including abortion, in consultation with their doctor rather than allowing extremists in the Ohio legislature to decide for them. Ohioans across the state are signing our petition to put this critical measure on the November ballot and this support from ACOG Ohio bolsters the momentum for our entire campaign,” offered Lauren Blauvelt, spokesperson for Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom.
“Earning ACOG Ohio’s support for and endorsement of our amendment is a landmark moment in our effort to enshrine reproductive rights and abortion access in the constitution,” said Dr. Lauren Beene, executive director of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights. “For more than 60 years, this respected organization has established the practice and standards for OB/GYNs while advocating for patients and their families. Their expertise and experience in reproductive health care is unrivaled and unchallenged and they will be an invaluable source of reliable, unbiased, unimpeachable evidence-based information that will serve as a powerful counterpoint to the lies being spread by our opponents. We welcome them to OPRR and we look forward to working with this dedicated group of professionals as we strive to ensure that every Ohioan has access to comprehensive reproductive health care including abortion.”
###
About Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights and Protect Choice Ohio
Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights (OPRR) and its grassroots network, Protect Choice Ohio (PCO) is a coalition of more than 2,000 Ohio physicians, allied medical professionals, business leaders and other non-partisan advocates that are mobilizing to ensure patients throughout Ohio have access to safe, legal, equitable, and comprehensive reproductive medical care including abortion for all Ohioans and to protect the doctor-patient relationship from government interference, so that people can make their own reproductive health care decisions.