After the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization effectively overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, CityBeat writers joined forces with Cleveland Scene writers to forecast the future for abortion patients in Ohio.
At the time, abortion providers feared a reality in which patients sought pregnancy-ending drugs on the black market, and that lower-income patients would take the hardest blow.
After the Dobbs decision last June, Ohio’s six-week abortion ban went into effect for about 11 weeks until a Hamilton County judge put a temporary restraining order on the bill. While the “heartbeat” bill has been held up in court, abortion has been legal in Ohio up until about 22 weeks gestation.
Now, one year after the Dobbs decision, an ongoing study by University of Cincinnati researchers in collaboration with Ohio Policy Evaluation Network (OPEN) is examining how the overturning of Roe has impacted Ohio’s abortion patients.
It starts with a flyer
Hanging in numerous Ohio abortion clinics is a sign that reads “Have you had trouble getting an abortion in Ohio, Kentucky, or West Virginia? We want to hear from you!”
The call for participants comes from researchers at UC working with OPEN to aggregate the lived experiences of abortion patients in a post-Roe world. In exchange for $100, study participants answer a series of questions about their experience seeking an abortion in the state.
Hillary Gyuras is a senior research associate with OPEN through UC’s sociology department.
“It can be difficult to hear these stories day in and day out,” Gyuras told CityBeat.
Wait times for an abortion consultation appointment in Ohio can range from three to five weeks, depending on the clinic. A patient can spend hours sequestered once they finally reach a waiting room, and then they are required by the state to wait another 24 hours before they can begin a medical or surgical procedure.
This was the case even before the overturning of Roe, but Gyuras said the six-week ban Ohioans experienced after the Supreme Court decision made it worse for patients’ mental health.
“Long wait times lead to a lot of mental and emotional turmoil,” Gyuras said. “This whole process, it has huge costs related to financial costs, physical and social-emotional costs. It has been very hard for folks.”
Hillary Gyuras is a senior research associate with OPEN through UC’s sociology department.
“It can be difficult to hear these stories day in and day out,” Gyuras told CityBeat.
Gyuras interviewed Ohio patients for six months starting in July 2022. She said OPEN is still in the analysis phase with its data on Ohio patients, but she shared common themes and observations gathered while interviewing these patients and what they can tell us about the new abortion landscape.
The interviews
“We heard a lot about the wait times,” Gyuras said. “We had participants who had appointments scheduled before the Dobbs decision and had those canceled and they had to start the whole process over again.”Wait times for an abortion consultation appointment in Ohio can range from three to five weeks, depending on the clinic. A patient can spend hours sequestered once they finally reach a waiting room, and then they are required by the state to wait another 24 hours before they can begin a medical or surgical procedure.
This was the case even before the overturning of Roe, but Gyuras said the six-week ban Ohioans experienced after the Supreme Court decision made it worse for patients’ mental health.
“Long wait times lead to a lot of mental and emotional turmoil,” Gyuras said. “This whole process, it has huge costs related to financial costs, physical and social-emotional costs. It has been very hard for folks.”
One of those patients, named Amina, secured an appointment in an Ohio clinic in early August of 2022 but was told she needed to have a medication abortion or travel to another city for a surgical abortion due to physician availability. She decided to schedule a medication abortion.
“At her second appointment, there was cardiac activity on ultrasound, and Amina was told she would need to go out of state for care,” the study reads. “Amina waited a couple days before calling clinics in Pennsylvania. The first one she called did not offer anesthesia, and the next one was prohibitively expensive.”
“At her second appointment, there was cardiac activity on ultrasound, and Amina was told she would need to go out of state for care,” the study reads. “Amina waited a couple days before calling clinics in Pennsylvania. The first one she called did not offer anesthesia, and the next one was prohibitively expensive.”
Gyuras said scheduling also came into conflict for Tamara, a Black woman in her thirties. After a doctor dissuaded her from getting tubal ligation, a form of permanent birth control, Tamara became pregnant.
“Tamara was hurt and mad,” the study reads. “She was also scared she wouldn’t be able to get an abortion in Ohio because she was not sure if it was legal anymore. The first clinic in Ohio she called told her they weren’t scheduling appointments because they didn’t know if the temporary block on the 6-week ban would remain in place. She called that clinic four times and was disappointed that she was unable to schedule.”
“Tamara was hurt and mad,” the study reads. “She was also scared she wouldn’t be able to get an abortion in Ohio because she was not sure if it was legal anymore. The first clinic in Ohio she called told her they weren’t scheduling appointments because they didn’t know if the temporary block on the 6-week ban would remain in place. She called that clinic four times and was disappointed that she was unable to schedule.”
Gyuras said a common thread among those she interviewed was that patients had all made their decisions to get an abortion very carefully.
“They put a lot of thought into their decision and a lot of time into their decision, they are choosing what they think is best for them and their families," Gyuras said. "A lot of the people we interview already are parents. They are really heavily focused on taking care of the children they have.”
“They put a lot of thought into their decision and a lot of time into their decision, they are choosing what they think is best for them and their families," Gyuras said. "A lot of the people we interview already are parents. They are really heavily focused on taking care of the children they have.”
The preliminary study report said Tamara, who already had two children when she became pregnant, told researchers she may have considered self-harm if she could not have gotten an abortion. Tamara, like many other patients Gyuras interviewed, opened up completely during the study, sharing intimate details about one of the darkest periods of her life.
“I have been struck by the number of people who say having this conversation was helpful for them,” Gyuras said. “That they found it to be a way to process their experience.”
“I have been struck by the number of people who say having this conversation was helpful for them,” Gyuras said. “That they found it to be a way to process their experience.”
The preliminary data
Data on the impact of Dobbs on Ohio patients is still being collected by OPEN, but preliminary numbers in a February report show the overall number of abortions in the region decreased following the Dobbs decision.
Ohio facilities saw a 56% decrease in abortion provision (845 fewer abortions) comparing July 2021 and July 2022 and a 51% decrease (690 fewer abortions) comparing August 2021 to August 2022. OPEN estimates more than 1,500 patients who would have received care in Ohio pre-Dobbs were unable to receive care in July and August 2022.
Many Ohioans also left the state to seek abortion care in 2022 compared to 2021, according to the study.
Of the 389 Ohioans in OPEN’s sample that left Ohio in July and August of 2022, 32% went to Illinois, 20% to Indiana, 6% to Kentucky, 33% to Michigan, and 10% to Pennsylvania. Only 72 Ohioans left the state for care in July and August 2021.
What’s next?
Abortion advocates are attempting to get an amendment on the Ohio ballot to enshrine reproductive autonomy protections in Ohio’s constitution. The signature campaign, led by Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, has reportedly gathered the vast majority of the 413,000 signatures needed by the July 5 deadline to make it to the ballot.
But before Ohioans can vote to push forward abortion rights, as other red states like Kentucky and Kansas already have, voters must first weigh in on Issue 1 during the Aug. 8 special election.
Issue 1 would raise the threshold for a constitutional amendment to pass from a simple majority of 50% plus one to 60%. Meaning it would take 60% of Ohio voters to vote in favor of protecting abortion access.
As it stands, PEW research data shows 48% of Ohioans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, 47% said it should be illegal in all or most cases, and 4% were unsure.
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