1:24pm July 2, 2013

➸ With Little More Than A Whimper, Ohio Effectively Banned Abortion Today.

rabbleprochoice:

abaldwin360:

The new budget bill recently passed in Ohio added unprecedented new restrictions on abortions. Ohio state law OAC 3701-83-19 (E) currently requires that “Ambulatory Surgical Facilities” maintain a transfer agreement with a hospital as part of their licensing requirements. The new budget bill, starting at line 10257, states that

(B) No public hospital shall do either of the following:

(1) Enter into a written transfer agreement with an ambulatory surgical facility in which nontherapeutic abortions are performed or induced;

(2) Authorize a physician who has been granted staff membership or professional privileges at the public hospital to use that membership or those privileges as a substitution for, or alternative to, a written transfer agreement for purposes of a variance application described in section 3702.304 of the Revised Code that is submitted to the director of health by an ambulatory surgical facility in which nontherapeutic abortions are performed or induced.”

In short, in order to maintain their license to practice, abortion clinics would be required to maintain written transfer agreements with hospitals that the new law prohibits.

Furthermore, doctors are prohibited from using public hospitals to provide abortion services by Ohio law ORC 5101.57 (B) which reads:

(B) No public facility shall be used for the purpose of performing or inducing a nontherapeutic abortion.

If these provisions stand, only a written transfer agreement with a private hospital can keep abortion clinics legally operating in the state, and abortion clinics are the only facilities legally allowed to provide abortions.

They are getting sneaky with this shit in Ohio.

What’s really amazing to me about all of this is how abortion has become even MORE villainized within the past few years even though the number of people who identify as pro-choice has grown.

If I’m reading and interpreting this information correctly what republicans have managed to do with this has been to ban all public hospitals (that receive funding from the state) to even assist abortions clinics and patients.

Like, if you think about this, the requirement for a surgical clinic in an abortion clinic is truly unnecessary but even if it WAS something that was needed, the transfer agreement basically allows you to move a patient who may be experiencing a complication from getting an abortion to be moved to a hospital that can provide emergent care. A complication that could be life-threatening in very rare circumstances.

So putting a requirement on abortion clinics to have a transfer agreement with a hospital and then barring public hospitals from being able to enter into agreements like that is essentially preventing any patient who may experience complications to be seen at a hospital, basically (because the overwhelming majority of private hospitals are religious-based and will not enter into a transfer agreement with an abortion clinic either).

So, basically, your options are to have the patient die at the abortion clinic or send them to a religious-affiliated hospital that doesn’t allow abortions (and won’t complete one that had to be stopped half-way through due to complications) and let them possibly die from sepsis or hemorrhage.

Not only are we punishing patients and doctors for wanting or performing abortions but now we’ve allowed republicans to villainize abortion to the extent that they have now, essentially, stopped any hospital (in Ohio at this point, this will spread though) receiving OUR tax dollars from even treating a patient who needs emergency assistance that the abortion clinic cannot provide.

i feel physically ill. i am so, so sorry to all the people who need these clinics in ohio, in north dakota. i’m sorry your struggle got drowned out. and texas, i’m sorry they’re trying to take your victory away from you. we’re here, we stand with you, and we’re not being quiet anymore.