According to the Ohio Department of Health, abortions in the state declined by two percent from 2018 (20,425 abortions) to 2019 (20,102). But over the course of 10 years — from 2009 to 2019 — there was a 30% decline in the number of abortions committed in the state.
In recent years, Ohio legislators have taken steps to introduce pro-life laws, including the Heartbeat Bill, signed into law in 2019 by Governor Mike DeWine. The bill, which would ban abortion when a preborn child’s heartbeat can be detected at about six weeks gestation, is currently blocked from going into effect by order of a federal judge.
“Ohio is steadily making progress to protect unborn children and their mothers from the dangerous and deadly practices of the abortion industry,” said Aaron Baer, president of Citizens for Community Values, in a press release. “The combination of pro-life leadership in the governor’s office and General Assembly, combined with the incredible work of churches and Pregnancy Resource Centers in communities throughout Ohio is saving lives.”
Baer said the African American community was hit the hardest by abortion in the state in 2019, accounting for 13% of the population but 41.7% of the abortions. Most abortions took place before 13 weeks gestation, but about 4,200 were committed in the second and third trimesters. Nearly 200 abortions were committed on girls younger than 15, and in total, 1,819 abortions were committed on girls under the age of 18. The majority of women who underwent abortions in Ohio in 2019 had never been married.
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The Ohio Department of Health report also includes some reported complications from abortion. One woman suffered a reported perforation of the uterus, five suffered from hemorrhage, and five from incomplete abortions. In addition, eight women had failed abortions. Ten women had “unknown” complications. Most of the complications occurred in first-trimester abortions.
“Ohio’s 2019 abortion report reveals what we already know: Ohio’s culture of life is advancing in the right direction. Tragically, 20,102 unborn babies still lost their lives to abortion in 2019, which far outpaces any cause of death for children in the state of Ohio,” Ohio Right to Life president Mike Gonidakis told Life News.
“Thanks to the compassion and conviction of Pro-Life Ohio, abortions continue to decline year after year,” he continued. “A culture of life is winning in Ohio and we are closer than ever to overturning Roe v. Wade. With renewed vigor, Ohio Right to Life will continue to hold the abortion industry accountable and advocate on behalf of vulnerable women and their precious unborn children. In our lifetime we will end abortion in Ohio and we will no longer need an abortion report. Until then we will keep working tirelessly to affirm the right to life of every human. We look forward to the day when abortion is ended and no women feels as if she must chose between herself and her child.”
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