COLUMBUS — State Senator Steve Huffman has introduced The Ohio Chemical Abortion Safety Act, to prevent the risky procedure from becoming even more dangerous and deadly. Chemical abortion is already the most common method of abortion in Ohio, and it is four times more likely than surgical abortion to cause a number of severe side effects, according to Huffman.
Chemical abortion-related emergency room visits have jumped by 500 percent from 2002 to 2015.
“Despite the risks for women’s health, these drugs and online consultations are much cheaper for Planned Parenthood than running surgical clinics. In order to help the abortion industry expand its profit margins, the Biden administration is poised to revoke current FDA safety regulations on abortion-inducing drugs. Without these safety standards, abortion providers will be able to diagnose and issue prescriptions to patients online, over the phone, or at school – and use the mail to send chemical abortion pills to patients,” Huffman said in a recent press release.
“That’s why we need this bill, to put current federal safeguards into our state law,” explained Huffman. “Otherwise, these extremely dangerous chemicals could become entirely unregulated. It is vital we update Ohio law to regulate chemical abortions and protect women’s lives and health.”
The bill would also require:
•An in-person examination before a chemical abortion.
•Verification that gestational age is under 10 weeks.
•An ultrasound to rule out ectopic pregnancy.
•Testing to protect a woman’s future fertility.
•A check of medical history for adverse reaction to an abortion pill.
•A follow-up examination to check for complications.
•A state certification program for doctors and distributors of abortion-inducing drugs.
“Peer-reviewed studies from the United States and Europe show that chemical abortion poses a serious risk to women’s health and future fertility. Ohio law needs to be updated to ensure that women receive proper medical care rather than abandoning them to dangerous and unsupervised, at-home abortions,” said Mary Parker, Director of Legislative Affairs at Ohio Right to Life.
