Roe Has Fallen 101 

What do Ohioans do now?

By: Crystal G

Women across the nation will never forget where they were on the morning of Friday, June 24, 2022, as the leaked decision overturning Roe v. Wade became final. Many states had trigger laws in place with immediate impact. While Ohio did not, it was not far behind. Within an hour, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost boasted on twitter that he had filed to dissolve the injunction that had prevented Senate bill 23, also known as the “Heartbeat Bill,” from being enforced. The injunction was dissolved by early afternoon.

What are the current restrictions?

Senate Bill 23, the “Heartbeat Bill,” makes no exception for rape or incest. Once electrical activity is detected, a woman loses the right to choose. This electrical activity can be detected as early as a few days after a woman’s first missed period.

House Bill 108 mandates that a woman must wait a full 24 hours between visits to a clinic before gaining access to an abortion. House Bill 42 further clarifies that the physician must meet the patient in person.

House Bill 241 – prohibits a nurse practitioner from prescribing abortion medication.

Senate Bill 154 – prohibits a physician’s assistant from prescribing abortion medication.

As of July 1, 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court denied a request for an emergency stay on Senate Bill 23.

What do our current restrictions mean to you? – Abortions are still legal in Ohio, however women seeking abortions are impacted by all of these bills. House Bill 241 and Senate Bill 154 make it difficult to find someone that can prescribe the safe and federally approved medication to induce an abortion. The passage of Senate Bill 23 in conjunction with House Bill 108 requiring a woman to wait a full 24 hours between appointments is not only designed to discriminate against the poor by making the procedure cost prohibitive but also to increase the likelihood the clinic will detect electric activity and thus be forced to turn a patient away.

So while abortions are still legal in Ohio, let’s be honest: the window in which one can get an abortion is so small that it is easily unattainable. Please read further to see what you can do to obtain an abortion or support someone who needs one.

What are we doing about this? The Biden administration is looking into every possible way to fight the overturning of Roe. Biden has stated that the Postal Service is a federal program and his administration is working to ensure that no state will interrupt or intercept an individual’s mail. This means a woman should be guaranteed delivery of the medication required for an abortion, which is a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol.

In the state of Ohio you can currently be prescribed and have these medications delivered to you – visit https://aidaccess.org/en/ This is the site of a private group of doctors working around the world trying to ensure that every woman has the right to choose. They have been gearing up to provide American woman access for sometime. Their medication is only effective for the first 11 weeks. Use “Abortion finder” to find further information on access to medication through the mail.

What if I am further along than 11 weeks? – Biden’s Administration is also trying to protect Americans’ right to travel. This would allow the organizations that are raising money to help a woman travel for healthcare to continue to operate.

Where can I go? – Closest states to Ohio with little restrictions are Illinois, New York, and Maryland. Michigan and Pennsylvania both have 24 hour waiting periods.  There are organizations setting up mobile clinics and parking just across the borders of the states that have outlawed abortions. Organizations are coming together as quickly as they can to find ways to get patients to the healthcare they need. At the moment one of the best places to visit is “Abortion finder” to see up to date information. Organizations that will help fund abortion care can be found here abortionfunds.org. New York is working on passing legislation to become an abortion safe haven state. This legislation would not only protect the privacy of the patient but will hopefully help fund the procedure as well as travel. The options are growing and we will do our best to keep the website up dated or send out additional information directly to you.

Here is a little science that seems to stump some of our republican legislators:

Why do they use the term “heartbeat”? Physicians have used common language to explain and replace complex medical terms to help their patients better understand what is happening to them. The term heartbeat is easy to understand, is comforting to women who are excited to become mothers, and doesn’t require further explanation by the doctor. Who knew that legislators would use this term to outlaw a woman’s choice?

Electrical activity is not a heartbeat. It is electrical activity of a group of cells that is being interpreted by devices like an ultrasound machine to measure the progress of the embryo. This embryo is just a group of cells; it does not have a heart, does not have a circulatory system. This electrical activity does not guarantee that these cells will produce a live birth. At this point of development it is not even considered a fetus.

How far along are you? The date of your last period is the only known measurable date and will be used to determine how far along you are. This is an estimate. You cannot get pregnant while you are shedding your uterine lining but this is something that is easily defined. It is approximated that you will become pregnant near the 14th day of your cycle, if you have a regular cycle. This becomes extremely complicated when you begin to factor the life of the sperm and the possibility that any change to a woman’s environment, like stress or illness, can impact a woman’s cycle. This is why your physician will perform an ultrasound later in a pregnancy to measure the fetus and determine a more specific due date.

What’s beyond the basics –

Have a well stocked medicine cabinet or fund one – Plan B is the brand name for the emergency contraceptive. This needs to be used within 72 hours of unprotected sexual intercourse through *stealthing, forced rape, birth control failure (e.g., a broken condom). You can purchase these contraceptives currently at your local pharmacies or order them offline. There have been issues reported if the person’s BMI is higher than 25 for some brands and 30 or higher for other brands; be sure to read the labels. You can find off-brand medication for a much lower cost. Due to increased interest, people are reporting a limit on the number of these contraceptives you can purchase at one time.

If you no longer need this type of coverage and would like to donate please visit Stix

For people outside Ohio, Yellowhammer Fund

If you need more information on how to get the abortion pills

*stealthing is the act of one partner removing a condom during intercourse without telling their partner. This can result in pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted diseases 

Be careful of posting on social media – By now you may have seen or shared posts saying that“ If you want to go camping in another state that is more camping friendly I will give you a ride,” for example. Whether you are serious or not about “camping,” use care when interacting with these type of posts. Local representative Kyle Koehler has co-sponsored Ohio House Bill 480 that the Republican super majority is now likely to pass. This bill will allow someone who helped a pregnant person obtain an abortion after fertilization to be sued by anyone for $10,000. The enticement of collecting large sums of money is being used to create more division and endanger the lives of women.

DELETE period tracking Apps; ALL of them – We have lost our rights to privacy, including the right to private period tracking apps. If you are suspected of being pregnant, your data can be collected and used to prosecute you for no longer being pregnant. Data collected from your phone would also provide proof that you traveled out of state shortly after you stopped getting your period. Another risk: Target once used shopping algorithms to detect teen pregnancy and sent pregnancy related coupons to the home of an unsuspecting teen who was then forced to disclose her pregnancy. Read an Ohio Capital Journal article here 

Why we need to make “good trouble” or make a little noise –

Every March or Rally can be informative – Many marches are organized with speakers and people who are there to help you, by registering you to vote, informing you of initiatives on the ballot, helping you find your polling place. Speakers generally explain what is happening and what you can do about it, identifying whom to contact or what to do next. You never know who you might meet at a rally, or how it might change your life.

Who to contact – You can text the word “choice” to 71736 for updates from the organizers of the Columbus State House Sunday, June 26, 2022 rally.

You can contact federal legislators, of course, but don’t overlook the impact of more local officials. Call the legislators at your statehouse, tie up their phones, send them emails, and submit testimony. Call your local law enforcement, tell them that you support privacy, and a person’s right to choose. Your local Sheriff is an elected official and you can influence her decisions. Local lead prosecutors are also elected officials; call them and tell them you don’t want them to waste tax payer dollars by prosecuting people seeking healthcare that is best for them. Judges are elected officials too; flood their offices with phone calls. Remind them that if they have a case before them they have the power to minimize the penalties.