Media FAQ and Guidelines
In the wake of abortion bans, abortion providers in the state have been inundated with media inquiries. We’ve provided answers to questions frequently asked to reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations.
I need to talk to a patient for one of my stories, which clinic can connect me to a patient?
The main priority of abortion providers is making sure their patients receive safe, timely, and compassionate care. Abortion providers have limited staff and resources and may not have the capacity to handle media requests or accommodate media inside the clinics. Additionally, clinics may not be able to connect you with people who have had abortions since sharing patient information is a violation of HIPAA laws.
Where can I find an abortion story?
Pro-Choice Ohio, New Voices for Reproductive Justice, Faith Choice Ohio, and Preterm have a collaborative project where we train and support abortion storytellers in Ohio called Patients to Advocates. This program centers the abortion stories of Ohioans who come from marginalized communities and who faced barriers to care due to anti-abortion policy. These storytellers may be available to interview with you. You can contact the Patients to Advocates coordinator by reaching out to jennifer@prochoiceohio.org
My Abortion, My Life is a project of Preterm where people from all over the world who’ve had abortions can submit their abortion stories. The project includes live abortion storytelling events and a podcast. If you’re interested in using an abortion story from My Abortion, My Life or working with our podcast, please contact Preterm.
In addition, We Testify is an abortion storytelling leadership program that centers the abortion experiences of people from marginalized communities. You can contact them at media@wetestify.org and learn more at wetestify.org.
What is the process of accessing an abortion from the moment someone finds out they are pregnant?
Most people find out they are pregnant around 6 weeks gestation. These are some of the barriers patients in Ohio face before even getting into a clinic:
Ohio has a 24 hour waiting period, which requires all patients to come to the clinic at least twice.
Financial resources – the cost of an abortion starts at around $500 and goes up as pregnancy progresses.
Childcare – 2 out of 3 people who have abortions are already parents.
Ohio insurance bans prevent Ohioans from using many kinds of insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid to pay for their abortions. This can contribute to people delaying their care in order to pay for their abortions.
No access to paid sick leave – state-mandated waiting periods can mean having to take more than one day off and make several medically unnecessary trips to a clinic.
Being deceived by crisis pregnancy centers – these are fake clinics that exist soley to prevent people from accessing abortion care. They are typically located near abortion clinics and take advantage of state-mandated ultrasound laws to lure patients in. They fail at their goal of changing the minds of patients, but they do cause delay in care. These centers receive significant state funding in Ohio.
Being a minor and needing a judicial bypass – Ohio requires minors to have parental consent for an abortion. Young people who can not get their parent’s consent have to go before a judge.
Transportation – the majority of counties in Ohio don’t have an abortion provider, this makes it difficult for people in rural communities and for minors to get to a clinic.
Not every provider provides abortions up to the state limit – several factors affect this, from provider shortage (many doctors don’t live in the communities where they provide care), scheduling around a doctor’s availability, and lack of training (not every provider is trained to perform abortion up to the state limit, training may not have been available during their medical education).
Protesters – all Ohio clinics have protesters that harass and intimidate patients trying to access the clinic.
How do current abortion restrictions impact the patient experience?
Patients may not realize that many of the obstacles they experience are by design. In states where abortion is easily accessible, a patient can go in and out on the same day to receive care. That is not the case in Ohio. Patients may feel frustrated at the number of hoops they have to jump to even get to a clinic and the amount of money that they have to pay for their care. News of abortion restrictions or bans creates additional confusion for people needing abortion care.
How do new and current abortion restrictions impact how abortion providers administer care?
Abortion providers have to comply with targeted regulations of abortion providers, or “TRAP” laws, which are burdensome and medically unnecessary laws that single out medical providers who perform abortions. These laws are designed to add administrative and logistical barriers in hopes of making it difficult or impossible to provide care. Abortion providers in Ohio are forced to forced to ask patients if they want to hear a fetal heartbeat during their ultrasound and give them medically inaccurate information about the likelihood of carrying their pregnancy to term. Abortion providers in Ohio must relay medically inaccurate state-mandated statements about fetal development with the intent to shame and scare patients.
What is something I should keep in mind when reporting on abortion restrictions and bans?
Abortion is a normal, safe, and quick procedure, but because of the anti-abortion agenda and abortion stigma, it has been ostracized from mainstream medicine in the United States. Most news reporting tends to focus on the legality and politics of abortion. While abortion care is heavily politicized in this country, it’s important to remember that people seeking abortion care do not experience it as exercising a constitutional right. For many, the first time they think about abortion is when they are faced with the need for one. For most people accessing abortion care, they are making a personal decision, not a political one.
If you talk to a patient, be mindful of how you frame questions since patients may not be able to identify the barriers they are experiencing as abortion restrictions. Be mindful of internalized abortion stigma or shame that may be influencing your reporting on abortion restrictions and abortion access. People have abortions for many reasons and experience a wide range of emotions around their abortion experiences, so be mindful to not assume how a patients feels about their abortion decision. There is no right or wrong way to feel about an abortion.
I have a question that I can’t find the answer to, who can I reach out to?
For questions on policy or politics, please contact Pro-Choice Ohio.
For questions on litigation, please contact the ACLU of Ohio.
For questions about abortion care and provider perspectives on abortion access, policy, and litigation, please contact Preterm or your local abortion provider.
For questions on faith and abortion care, please contact Faith in Public Life.
For questions on financial and logistical barriers to care, please contact Women Have Options/ Ohio.