Columbus, OH – The following statement was issued by leadership of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights (OPRR) in recognition of the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and the formation of OPRR:
“On June 24, 2022, what many believed would never happen, did, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Within hours, Ohio’s abortion ban was reinstated. Within days, a movement was born.
“In the days and weeks that followed, physicians across Ohio witnessed the crisis that ensued – a crisis that saw a 10-year-old girl, pregnant by her rapist, denied abortion care. A crisis that denied care to scores of pregnant girls and women – some who were choosing to end their pregnancies, and others who were desperately trying to save them, and in some cases save themselves.
“What started as a single letter to a single legislator has grown into a nonpartisan coalition of more than 4,000 health care professionals across the state who refuse to stand idly by while patients suffer and health care is criminalized.
“In Ohio, we’re fortunate to have the power of direct democracy – an option to bypass extreme politicians who insist on interfering with private health care decisions that should be between patients and their physicians. We can let people, not politicians, set Ohio policy on reproductive health.
“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the many, many people who have devoted thousands of hours to our organization and our cause, including Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, the coalition of organizations that have been at the forefront of the fight for reproductive rights for many years. Our partnership with ORF has enabled us to circulate petitions and obtain signatures throughout the state. We are grateful that Ohioans who live in our urban centers, suburbs, villages, and rural communities are standing with us. Like us, they want to preserve the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship and be empowered to make personal health care decisions free from government interference.
“We look forward to giving Ohioans the opportunity to restore the rights they lost when Roe was overturned. We are thankful for the overwhelming support from Ohio voters, and we look forward to success in November.”
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About Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights and Protect Choice Ohio
Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights and its grassroots network, Protect Choice Ohio is a coalition of more than 4,000 Ohio physicians, allied medical professionals, business leaders and other non-partisan advocates who 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.