What’s the future of abortion clinics in Ohio?

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Julia Cattaneo was 14 years old when she boarded a flight to New York City.

A freshman at a Toledo-area high school in 1971, Cattaneo said she discovered she was pregnant after befriending a group of older men who “groomed” her for sexual abuse, she said.

Since abortion had not yet been legalized in Ohio at the time, Cattaneo said some of the men took her to a doctor in Toledo who was willing to perform an illegal abortion.

“I looked around at the place; it was dark, dirty and smelled,” she said. “Somehow I had the strength to say no.”

Cattaneo said she suggested informing her parents of the pregnancy – a proposal quickly shut down by some of the men. Instead, they agreed to fly her to New York to obtain an abortion, where the procedure had been legal since 1970.

Ohio followed suit three years later when the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion across the U.S., but today the number of state abortion clinics are on the decline – a sign of victory for anti-abortion groups and a cause of concern for abortion rights organizations.

Twelve clinics have shut their doors in Ohio since 2010, and that number is likely to grow as state lawmakers continue to enact bills that restrict a clinic’s ability to provide abortion services, according to Jessie Hill, coordinating attorney for the ACLU of Ohio.

“There has been an unrelenting campaign of hostility and harassment toward abortion clinics on the part of the Ohio General Assembly, Ohio Department of Health,” Hill said. “It has been just one thing after another in an attempt to shut them down.”

Of the 13 clinics that remain open, Hill said six provide surgical abortions, and the remainder offer either telemedicine services or medication-only abortions, the latter of which must be obtained within 10 weeks of conception. Although some private primary care physicians perform abortions, Hill said about 90% occur in a clinic.

The closing of the clinics largely correlate with the 31 abortion-restricting bills enacted by the Ohio General Assembly since 2010, according to Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio spokesperson Aileen Day.

Also called TRAP laws – Targeted Restriction on Abortion Providers – Ohio law imposing regulations on clinics includes a 2015 bill that requires clinics to have an agreement with a private hospital within 30 miles where patients can be transferred if necessary, Hill said.

“It ensures basically that you’re only going to have access to abortion in more concentrated or populous centers where there’s actually going to be hospitals, full-fledged hospitals,” she said.

Other TRAP laws include requirements that a clinic must have four “backup doctors” who have admitting privileges to a nearby hospital, which is occasionally hard to come by as doctors could be subjected to harassment, Hill said.

For Mary Parker, legislative director for the Ohio Right to Life, the closures of abortion clinics – and the decrease in abortions overall – “is a testament to the pro-life movement in Ohio and our pro-life lawmakers,” she said.

Abortions in Ohio have decreased nearly 30% since 2010, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

“We see a cultural shift going on, that women and even men are understanding that abortion is not a good, it’s not something to be pursued,” Parker said.

While the number of abortion clinics is near single digits, Parker said there’s more than 100 pregnancy centers in Ohio that provide free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, material support, counseling and parenting classes. Pregnancy centers, according to the Ohio Right to Life’s website, outnumber abortion clinics 18:1.

“I think that’s a very telling distinction,” Parker said.

Through the Ohio Parenting and Pregnancy Program, Parker said the state provides about $7.5 million in funding to pregnancy centers, social service organizations and ministries who financially and materially assist pregnant people in Ohio.

“We understand that women are in crisis mode, that they feel like they can’t have this baby,” Parker said. “We’re here to accompany them so they can embrace the pregnancy.”

Iris Harvey, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, said it’s only a matter of time until all clinics are shut down in Ohio – and abortion care will only be available for those who can travel out of state.

“It’s fine, if I live in Ohio and I can get on a jet and I can fly to California, have my procedure and maybe sit on Redondo Beach,” she said.

But for people with children or those who can’t get time off work, Harvey said having to travel hundreds of miles and find lodging is an “incredible imposition.”

Cattaneo, 64, is now living in Columbus and retired from a career in social work. Although she said she was in a state of distress and can’t remember many details about the journey to obtain an abortion as a 14-year-old, she does remember the egg-and-mashed-potatoes breakfast offered on the plane.

“I can remember because that was what I focused on,” she said.

Three years later, Cattaneo said she found herself pregnant again, and her partner at the time wanted her to terminate the pregnancy.

“Once again, I went through this time, all the shame, all the hurt, I couldn’t tell anybody, and that’s when after that I found Planned Parenthood,” she said. “They literally saved my life.”

Cattaneo said the abortion clinics where she received care were in wealthy areas – and she “was in a position of privilege and money” to be able to seek out care, an option not available for many people, she said.

“I was lucky to be able to have a safe and legal abortion,” she said. “That option blessed me with children and grandchildren later in life.”