New podcast documents Ohio's treatment of abortion
Heartbeat Bill, redistricting and crisis pregnancy centers among topics covered
A new radio podcast documents Ohio’s response to Roe v. Wade being overturned.
Ohio After Roe was produced by Amy Eddings for Ideastream. It features interviews with abortion providers, crisis pregnancy center staff and activists who shed light on how the state dealt with the monumental decision.
Some of the reporting is eye-opening. One woman mentioned in the documentary had to pay $400 for an Uber ride to Michigan. Another part talks about the 10-year-old girl who had to get an abortion in Indiana because it was unavailable in Ohio.
At the beginning of the podcast, the podcast addresses the heartbeat bill that bans most abortions once you can detect any cardiac activity, which can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy. A preliminary injunction continues to block that, according to reporting from the Dayton Daily News.
The book is even-handed in its reporting. It will feature interviews with both sides of the debate. When discussing crisis pregnancy centers, the producer went inside one to speak to staffers and then also had an expert that talked about how manipulative they could be.
Redistricting and gerrymandering were also discussed in the podcast. Republican Gov. Mike Dewine recently said that they should take the responsibility out of the hands of politicians. Voters approved two amendments to the state Constitution in 2015 and 2018 that were supposed to limit gerrymandering and lead to districts that better represented the state’s partisan divide.
Ohio will consider abortion on the ballot in 2024. Recently, two groups filed for a ballot initiative to create a constitutional right to abortion in the state. The Associated Press reports that Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights is joining Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom in advancing the measure, in a campaign they estimate could cost up to $36 million.