After proponents of a radical abortion amendment to Ohio's constitution said they submitted enough signatures to get their measure on November's ballot, a number of OB/GYNs in the Buckeye State are sharing their concerns with the amendment's consequences based on their experience caring for the women and girls of Ohio.
All are members of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), and they are speaking out against the proposed amendment — and not just because it would allow abortion through the end of a woman's pregnancy.
"This amendment is so radical it would allow abortion at full-term, when babies can feel pain and survive outside the womb," noted Angela Martin, an OB/GYN near Cincinnati. "It also endangers the women it claims to care for by eliminating existing health and safety protections for abortion facilities," she added. "This amendment is not the way to support real, quality care for Ohio women and children."
Lindsay Rerko, a family medicine doctor in Columbus, called the proposed change to Ohio's constitution an "extreme amendment" that "is not good for any of my patients. Eliminating parental involvement in their minor children's health decisions while allowing abortion up to birth when babies can feel pain will lead to worse health outcomes for everyone involved," Rerko emphasized. "The amendment is anti-women and anti-parent."
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While proponents of the amendment may cite a need for "reproductive justice," Cleveland's Dr. Maureen Curley — who counsels women on pregnancy-related mood and anxiety disorders — says there's nothing "just" about what the measure would mean for women. "Late trimester abortions, as allowed by this amendment, put Ohio women at high risk for severe and long-term depression, substance use and psychological stress," Curley explained. "This mental distress is the ultimate injustice for Ohio women who need and deserve better."
Beyond the immediate medical concerns about what the Ohio amendment would allow, there are also concerns about the illicit and exploitative activity that stands to benefit from the proposed measure.
"In many areas of the country, the effects of limiting parental rights are on display — children falling prey to abuse and trafficking schemes, being subjected to therapies backed by no evidence, and undergoing surgeries out of fear and false pretenses," warned OB/GYN Vivina Napier of Columbus. "Parents want to and should partner with their children in their healthcare education and decisions. We should not allow for the isolating of children from their parents as they walk through life-impacting medical decisions, while third parties-including abusers and traffickers are protected and encouraged as is being demonstrated when such amendments are being utilized in other states," she explained.
"This ballot initiative would permit gruesome late-term abortions in our state as well as exclude parents from participating in their children's life-altering healthcare decisions," Napier added. "This amendment endangers the safety, health and well-being of children in Ohio, as well as the rights of parents."
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