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03.04.21
Being Anti-Racist Means Fighting Against Anti-Asian Violence, Too
By Sarah Khan-Williamson
I remember it clear as day, even though it was almost a year ago. During one of the many COVID press briefings that took place in the beginning of the pandemic, a brave female reporter asked then-President Trump: “Why do you keep calling it the Chinese virus?”
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02.01.21
Pandemic Or Not, Ohioans Deserve Virtual Testimony
By Sarah Khan-Williamson
It takes nearly three hours to travel from Ashtabula, Ohio to Columbus.
It takes over two hours to get from Cleveland, the second most populous city in Ohio, to the state capital – the same amount of time it takes for one to travel from the Appalachian city of Marietta to Columbus.
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01.19.21
A Conversation with Repro Rights Expert Professor Jessie Hill on the Future of Abortion
By Sarah Khan-Williamson
As we saw just a few weeks ago, Ohio lawmakers again took lameduck session hostage by prioritizing an anti-abortion agenda above all. This resulted in two new laws being signed by Governor DeWine, one which requires fetal abortion tissue to be buried or cremated and another that banned telemedicine abortions.
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12.18.20
Ohio Lawmakers Again Take Lameduck Session Hostage by Prioritizing Anti-Abortion Agenda Above All
By Sarah Khan-Williamson
The close of the 133rd Ohio General Assembly (OGA) is rapidly approaching. We are in the final stretch of lame duck, a time between the general election and the end of the year when a new legislative session starts. Ohio legislators hurry to wrap up whatever unfinished business they have from the past two years.
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05.08.20
Playing Politics with Essential Health Care: Abortion Access in Ohio during the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Sarah Khan-Williamson
National Women’s Health Week (NWHW) is recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health (OWH) as a time to remind women and girls that they are in control of their health journey. OWH launched NWHW in 2000 to empower women to make health a priority.
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02.05.20
Ohioans might have been confused about abortion laws. Not anymore.
By Sarah Khan-Williamson
In 2019, I moved to Columbus from Arizona four days after Senate Bill 23 was introduced in late February.
Before I had even gotten to unpack the last of my items, the bill, which was dubbed by anti-choice groups as the “Heartbeat Bill”, was signed into law in early April.
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12.19.19
Here’s how Anti-Choice Lawmakers Waged War against Abortion in Ohio in 2019
By Sarah Khan-Williamson
If you have social media and a way to get the latest news, chances are you have heard of two abortion bans (SB 23 and HB 413) – one of which was signed into law while the other was introduced to the Ohio Statehouse this year.
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06.11.19
Pregnancy Termination Saved My Life
By Celina Coming
All in one day, I found out both that I was pregnant and that I had cancer.
In December 2018, I had a few very large and dark purple bruises on my legs that weren’t going away. Since my husband of 7 months and I were actively trying to conceive, I asked my doctor to order some blood tests.
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06.04.19
House Bill 90 – Opponent Testimony
By Celina Coming
Below is our Chief Lobbyist Gary Daniels’ opponent testimony on House Bill 90. This was delivered to the House Health Committee Committee on June 4, 2019.
To Chairman Merrin, Vice Chair Manning, Ranking Member Boyd, and members of the House Health Committee, thank you for this opportunity to present opponent testimony on Amended Substitute House Bill 90.
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01.18.19
Why this gay man cares passionately about protecting Roe v. Wade
By Dan Rogan
A reflection to commemorate the 46th anniversary of “Roe”
Every civil libertarian I’ve met, it seems, has their own personal story about why protecting essential freedoms is deeply personal. I am no different.
Since my earliest days as an activist, two issues – LGBTQ rights and abortion rights – have resonated strongly with me.
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06.14.18
Young Americans Support Abortion Rights, Ohio Legislators Couldn’t Care Less
By Celina Coming
Recently, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), a nonpartisan, independent research organization, released a poll that shows younger Americans are more supportive of abortion rights than older Americans, and more importantly, that their views are becoming more supportive over time.
But certain members of the Ohio Legislature do not seem to care about what young people want from their elected officials.
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02.16.18
Down syndrome Abortion Ban – A Parent’s Perspective
By Celina Coming
My name is Emily Chesnut and this my daughter Nora, who will be seven at the end of the month. I am here to speak on behalf of my family and many friends who also love someone with Down syndrome. I am especially thankful to Dr.
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01.22.18
Roe v. Wade Decision Celebrates 45th Anniversary!
By Lisa Wurm
Although today marks the 45th anniversary of the monumental Roe v. Wade decision, a woman’s right to choose when, or if, to become a mother continues to be challenged and restricted. In fact, exactly one month before the 45th anniversary of Roe v.
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06.16.17
Authors D.A. Dirks and Patricia A. Relf on Reproductive Rights, Then and Now
By James Kosmatka
In anticipation of the ACLU of Ohio’s spring event series, I sat down with authors D. A. Dirks and Patricia A. Relf to discuss their latest work, To Offer Compassion: A History of the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion. The authors deconstruct one of the deepest misunderstandings within the pro-life versus pro-choice debate—that it is synonymous with religious belief versus secular humanism.
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12.09.16
After Two Unconstitutional Anti-Abortion Bills Pass, We Have to Ask: What’s the Matter With Ohio’s Lame Duck Legislature?
By Lisa Wurm
It’s lame duck season in the state of Ohio and this year seems like the “super special” version. During the lame duck session, the legislature has just a few short weeks to pass laws before all bills have to start over from scratch in the new year.
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12.02.16
When Legislators Play Doctor, Women Pay the Price: Sheva’s Story
By Katrice Williams
On December 13, Governor John Kasich signed the 20-week abortion ban into law. SB127 is Ohio’s most recent attempt to close all clinics and make abortion care completely inaccessible for women who need it. This ban will impact women such as Sheva Guy, who, after receiving heartbreaking news about her pregnancy, was forced to travel 300 miles for the medical care she required.
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10.13.16
Look No Further than the Midwest for a Champion of Reproductive Freedom
By Dan Rogan
Illinois sets the stage for abortion access in America
Two years before the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, the ACLU of Illinois won a court victory recognizing the right to abortion. Every year since then, they have fought off attacks on reproductive freedom and, because of the ACLU of Illinois, there has been relatively unimpeded abortion laws in the state.
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12.14.15
When Protecting Liberty Means Defending Your Enemy
By Ellen Kubit
“What if someone were to kill you!”
This is one of the more common threats yelled at me and my fellow clinic escorts when we volunteer at Cleveland’s Preterm Abortion Clinic. Such terrorizing phrases come from a group of self-identified “pro-life” protesters, who wait outside the clinic daily to voice their dissension towards and disrespect for the clinic’s staff, volunteers, security guards, patients and women in general.
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10.09.15
Ohio Should Not Use People with Down Syndrome in Political Fight About Abortion
By Adrienne Gavula
The ACLU supports a woman’s access to the full range of reproductive health care, including abortion, by working to ensure that every woman can make the best decision for herself and her family without undue political interference. We also strive for an America free of discrimination against people with disabilities.
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09.18.15
Ohio Women’s Reproductive Rights Are in Jeopardy
By Steve David
Legislation introduced in the Ohio Statehouse will tighten the regulations on abortion in an attempt to circumvent the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision Roe v. Wade (1973) that the outright banning of abortion is unconstitutional. If passed, these laws would make Ohio second only to Texas in abortion regulation.
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08.07.15
Fired for Being Pregnant
By Steve David
It’s hard to believe that in this day and age women can be fired for becoming pregnant. A quick Google search for “pregnant and fired” brings up multiple headlines in the news documenting stories of women fired once their bosses learned of their pregnancy.
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07.03.15
Abortion: People Versus Politicians
By Steve David
According to a recent Gallup poll, half of Americans now call themselves pro-choice. Looking at gender, 54 percent of women and 46 percent of men identify as that way.
The current numbers are the result of a trend of increasing identification with being pro-choice since 2012.
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06.30.15
Summer Break at the Statehouse: A Review of the First Six Months
By Lisa Wurm
The Ohio General Assembly has now passed the state budget, and the first quarter of the two-year legislative session is over. As always, the ACLU of Ohio has been very active at the Statehouse in what was a very busy first six months.
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05.20.15
Cuts to Medicaid Are Costly to Women’s Health…and to Taxpayers
By Shakyra Diaz
Every now and then politicians get it right, and so it was with Ohio’s Medicaid expansion.
Following the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 2013, Governor Kasich expanded Medicaid coverage to families earning up to about $40,000 a year for the typical family of three.
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04.17.15
Ohio Poised to Censor Crucial Guardianship Information
By Shakyra Diaz
Almost a year ago, The Columbus Dispatch began a series covering alarming gaps and abuse in Ohio’s guardianship system. It didn’t take long for lawmakers to respond and soon we had legislation to help bring reform in Ohio.
Ohio House Bill (HB) 624, sponsored by Representative Dorothy Pelanda (R-District 86) during the 2013-2014 legislative session, would have allowed for the distribution of a ward’s “bill of rights,” and to require that a guardian receive the Ohio Guardianship Guide, prepared by the Ohio Attorney General, and acknowledge its receipt.
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03.20.15
Acknowledging Activism for Women’s History Month
By Shakyra Diaz
“Remember the ladies.”
In March of 1776, before the laws of the land were finalized, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John Adams, to remind him the Constitution should not limit freedom to men. She cautioned if women were not included, “we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”
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03.13.15
“Heartbeat Bill” Returns, Along With Our Promise to Sue
By Ellen Kubit
Last December, Ohio’s so-called “Heartbeat Bill” ultimately expired when a majority of members in the Ohio House of Representatives voted against it as the legislative session wound down.
However, Statehouse watchers knew to expect it back some time after the new session started in January.
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02.27.15
The Reality for Ohio Women Today
By Ellen Kubit
Last week, the ACLU of Ohio reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed on behalf of a single mother, Jennifer Maudlin.
According to Maudlin, Inside Out, Inc., a Christian-based childcare facility, fired her under an unwritten company policy against non-marital sex after she informed them she was pregnant.
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01.21.15
An Era of Reproductive Freedom, Thanks to Roe v. Wade
By Ellen Kubit
It has been 42 years since the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which ruled that a woman’s decision to have an abortion is protected by the constitution.
Almost 20 years later, Roe was upheld but modified. Planned Parenthood v.
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12.19.14
Sunset at the Statehouse
By Shakyra Diaz
As the end of the year approaches, what went on in the final days of the 130th Ohio General Assembly?
When last I wrote about the Ohio legislature’s “lame duck” session, I provided updates on the so-called Heartbeat Bill and the lethal injection bill.