MEDIA ADVISORY — Ohioans Come Together in Support of Abortion Access as Part of Nationwide Day of Action
For Immediate Release: Sept. 1, 2021 (Updated: Sept. 1, 2021, noon)
MEDIA ADVISORY — Ohioans Come Together in Support of Abortion Access as Part of Nationwide Day of Action
For Immediate Release: September 1
Press Contact: Aileen Day (614) 313-2057 [email protected]
Cincinnati — Today, in direct response to the spate of abortion restrictions introduced around the country, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, and advocates for reproductive freedom in Ohio will mobilize online. As well as paste a statement across Cincinnati on a mobile billboard as part of a National Day of Action today and tomorrow, to demonstrate broad support of abortion access in the face of these attacks.
The day of action comes as S.B. 8, Texas’s draconian six-week abortion ban, takes effect, ahead of Supreme Court oral arguments on a case from Mississippi that could overturn Roe v. Wade. With nearly 600 abortion restrictions introduced this year alone — 90 of which were enacted — 2021 has been the most hostile legislative year for reproductive rights and health since Roe was decided nearly 50 years ago.
Here in Ohio, we have seen anti-abortion city council members use Texas’s S.B. 8 as a blueprint to not only ban abortion in their city, but open the door and invite anti-abortion extremists to sue people accessing and trying to help people access abortion.
Support for abortion access is at a record high — 8 in 10 Americans support safe, legal abortion. This day of action will send politicians a loud and clear message: Banning abortion is unconstitutional, dangerous, deeply unpopular, and people will not stand for it.
Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region President & CEO Kersha Deibel: “Texas’ Senate Bill 8 is devastating to the people of Texas. It has also opened a new chapter in the anti-abortion attack strategy. Guided by extremists in Texas, several cities in Ohio like Lebanon and Mason have started not only banning abortion within their city but writing in careful language that invites anti-abortion extremists across the country to sue people who help people get an abortion. We stand with the people of Texas and with people everywhere trying to access abortion care.”
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio Vice President of Government Affairs & Public Advocacy Lauren Blauvelt-Copelin: “We have seen anti-abortion groups across the country coordinate their attacks to ensure that an abortion ban in one state is felt across the country. On our National Day of Action, we are shining a light on their devastating attacks by driving a mobile billboard around Cincinnati today and tomorrow with a clear message—we represent the majority of Americans who support abortion access.”
###
About Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio supports advocacy for reproductive health and reproductive rights, including grassroots organizing, community education, and lobbying.
About Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region
Serving 20 counties in southwestern Ohio and three in northern Kentucky, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio strengthens the community by providing access to high quality health care and education that empower people to make informed private decisions about their reproductive lives and sexual health. With five health centers throughout the region, it is Planned Parenthood’s goal to provide reproductive health care services to any individual who wants or needs them, to advocate public policies which guarantee each individual's access to services, to advocate individual’s right to privacy and their ability to make reproductive decisions free of coercion and to provide human sexuality education which enhances the health and well-being of individuals in the community. Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region is an affiliate of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.