135. Reproductive Freedom in Ohio: Misinformation and the Stakes of Issue 1
Just two weeks from November 7, the last date Ohioans can vote on Issue 1, a ballot initiative that will enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio constitution, Dan Skinner talks with Marcela Azevedo, MD, Co-Founder of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights (OPRR) about the state of the “Yes on Issue 1” movement. Topics include whether OPRR and issue 1 supporters have been able to cut through the noise and misinformation that have clouded voters’ understanding of what Issue 1 will do; the health stakes of Issue 1, including what we learned from the 82 days after Dobbs when abortion was illegal in Ohio; the significance of physician leadership on the issue of reproductive freedom; and more.
About Dr. Marcela Azevedo (from OPRR website):
Marcela Azevedo, MD, is an ICU and Interventional Pulmonology physician in Northeast Ohio, where she was raised. She is one of the founders and now president of the Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights and the non-partisan, grassroots coalition Protect Choice Ohio. She serves as a member of the Executive Committee of Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, the broad-based organization that is conducting the campaign to enshrine reproductive freedom in the Ohio constitution. Dr. Azevedo’s first-hand experience caring for pregnant patients who are critically ill informs her belief that medical decisions related to pregnancy should be made by patients, families, and their physicians rather than government and fuels her commitment to restoring and protecting the reproductive rights and bodily autonomy of all Ohioans.
Links, Name checks, and Miscellany
Learn more about Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights (OPRR) and find out how you can get involved.
Visit Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights to find out how you can learn about and get involved in both the Issue 1 and larger reproductive freedom movements in Ohio.
Dan mentions an informative commentary published last week by Ohio Capital Journal editor, David DeWitt.
Read up on the Baldwin Wallace poll of Issue 1, conducted last week.
Read the Health Policy Institute of Ohio’s one sheet on Issue 1.
Some past episodes on abortion in Ohio:
130. The Precarious State of Medication Abortion Access in Ohio (with Dr. Danielle Bessett of the Ohio Policy Evaluation Network and Morgan Mitchell of the Abortion Fund of Ohio) (2023)
125. Rep. Anita Somani on Abortion, Gender Affirmation, & Statehouse Hypocrisy (2023)
93. The Present and Future of Abortion in Ohio (with Professor B. Jessie Hill) (2021)
Hosted and produced by Dan Skinner. Social media and production support by Nathaniel Powell. Prognosis Ohio is a member of the WCBE Podcast Experience and the Health Podcast Network. Prognosis Ohio is a production of Prognosis Ohio, LLC.