COALITION FOR FAMILY HEALTH REPORT ASSESSES THE ACCESSIBILITY OF FAMILY PLANNING RESOURCES IN OHIO
A white paper released today by the Coalition for Family Health finds the accessibility of family planning resources in Ohio to be severely inadequate. Citing laws and policies that are among the most restrictive in the nation and a statewide shortage of publicly supported family planning clinics, the seventeen-page Report on Access to Family Planning Resources in Ohio documents in detail the causes and effects of Ohio’s dismal record—a record that distinguishes the state as 48th among the fifty states and the District of Columbia in terms of contraceptive access and makes Ohio’s $50 per woman-in-need spending less than one-half the national average.
Formed one year ago, the Coalition for Family Health provides its member organizations—public and private organizations (for profit and nonprofit) and government agencies—with an organized voice to advocate for (1) public policies and practices that promote the prevention of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections/diseases and (2) the rights of each individual and family to safe, legal, and accessible reproductive health care services. Currently composed of more than thirty member organizations based in communities across the state, the Coalition introduced the white paper—its second—as part of a daylong annual meeting and public program.
The meeting’s keynoter, prominent child advocate and executive director of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio (an organizational-member of the Coalition for Family Health) Crystal Ward Allen, authored the white paper’s foreword, which highlights the child outcome implications and poverty related costs of unintended pregnancies. As Ms. Allen states, unintended pregnancies presently account for approximately one-half of all Ohio births. Citing the efforts of Governor Strickland’s Anti-Poverty Task Force and Ohio’s impending submission of an application to join the 27 states that have already obtained a Medicaid Family Planning Waiver—a proven means of expanding the reach and the comprehensiveness of reproductive health services available to low-income women and men—Ms. Allen offers concrete examples of effective partnerships and of the common ground on which successful collaborations must begin. “Healthy families are a value embraced by all—conservatives and progressives, faith-based groups and educators, the media, and the general public,” writes Ms. Allen. “Reducing unintended pregnancies will promote the happiest of all events—the birth of a child to those who are ready and willing to parent.”
Judi Wolf of the National Council of Jewish Women, which serves as the Coalition’s convening organization, called the white paper “a wake-up call” for all Ohioans and convincing evidence of the tremendous importance of the Ohio Prevention First Act, which is set to be reintroduced during the General Assembly’s current session. “Complacency is not an option,” Ms. Wolf explained.
“The white paper is a sobering reminder of what is at stake and why passage of the Ohio Prevention First Act is absolutely essential.” Among the Act’s key provisions are comprehensive, medically accurate sex education in Ohio schools; increased, equitable access to contraception and pre-conception care services; and the availability of emergency contraception in all hospital emergency rooms.
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