OHIO, USA — New data from the Ohio Department of Health reveals how many abortions took place in the state last year.
According to their 2023 data, there were 22,000 abortions in Ohio last year. About 19,000 of those were women who lived in Ohio and 2,771 of the abortions were for women from out of state.
10TV spoke to people on both sides of the hot-button issue about the report.
Mike Gonidakis, the president of Ohio Right to Life, said the numbers are concerning.
“You know, we’re saddened to see that still in 2024 we are seeing such high numbers of innocent lives being lost in the state of Ohio,” said Gonidakis.
Jamie Miracle, the deputy director of Abortion Forward, said the numbers show the need for care.
“When people have access to care, they can get the care they need and people deserve to be able to get abortion care in their community and close to home,” said Miracle.
In 2023, more than 2,700 women came from out of state to get an abortion in Ohio. In 2022, that number was 1,287.
“We are seeing an influx of women coming from other states and we need to figure out why. You know, the adoption is the best option. You know, having your child, raising your child in a healthy environment is the best option to abortion,” said Gonidakis.
“What these numbers show is when states like Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia ban access to abortion, those people have to come to Ohio to get access to the care they need,” said Miracle.
Election day is just over a month away. A lot of the races could affect the future of abortion. Last year, Ohio voters made abortion legal. However, advocates said the election holds a lot of weight on the future of abortion access in Ohio.
“I think what we see in 2024 will really be determined by who is on the Ohio Supreme Court,” said Miracle. “We need to make sure that we elect Supreme Court justices who will protect and enforce the reproductive freedom amendment. Not ignore it,” she added.
“I think you're going to see a lot more practical, common-sense approaches to these issues to ensure and women have access to good quality health care, prenatal care, housing, childcare, whatever those needs may be for them in order to have a healthy baby and raise their child,” said Gonidakis.
Read ODH's full report here.