COLUMBUS – The number of abortions in Ohio fell to a 38-year low in 2014, according to a report released Wednesday by the state Department of Health.
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The 21,186 abortions performed last year marked an 8.7 percent decrease from 2013 and was the lowest number of abortions since 1976, when the state began keeping records.
“Overall, since 2001 there has been a steady decline in terminations,” the annual report noted.
The report offers no explanation for the drop; however, Republican Gov. John Kasich and the GOP-controlled General Assembly have tightened regulations on abortion clinics in recent years, forcing several to close and threatening to shutter others.
Abortion opponents credit the new laws for reducing Ohio’s abortion rate. In Ohio, at least a half-dozen abortion clinics have closed or reduced services over several years.
“While our work is not yet complete, it is comforting to know that our pro-life initiatives are working in Ohio,” said Michael Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life. “More and more babies are alive today because of the leadership of Gov. Kasich and our pro-life legislature.”
An Associated Press survey this year showed abortions have declined in Ohio and other states where new laws make it harder to have them but also waned in states where abortion rights are protected.
Supporters of abortion rights say abortions are down in Ohio; however, many women seeking the procedure are traveling out of state. And women who can’t afford to travel or be away from work, they said, might be seeking unreported, illegal and unsafe alternatives.
They note that in Michigan the number of out-of-state women obtaining abortions nearly doubled between 2013 and 2014. One of Toledo’s two clinics closed in late 2013.
The report stated that nearly 95 percent of the abortions were for Ohio women.