1,100-plus Ohio doctors band together to defend reproductive rights

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohio physicians are speaking out in response the the overturning of Roe. v. Wade.

Over 1,100 doctors have joined together to form a new organization, Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, dedicated to championing the reproductive freedom of their patients.

“We are working collaboratively, with a mission to unify, represent, and mobilize Ohio physicians, advocating for all people’s rights to evidence-based reproductive medical care, including abortion,” wrote Dr. Marcela Azevedo and Dr. Lauren Beene in a statement released to the media on Tuesday.

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The group was started by Beene, a Cleveland-area pediatrician who says although she was always aware of divisive politics surrounding abortions, she has never before considered herself an activist. In fact, she says she never imagined that an abortion ban would have such profound or immediate implications for her medical practice as a general pediatrician.

But all that changed Monday morning following the fall of Roe v. Wade and the enactment Ohio’s heartbeat bill when a parent of one of her patients asked if it would be appropriate to start her daughter on birth control, because in the event that she were raped, the daughter feared she would be forced to continue a pregnancy.

“And I said, ‘Gosh, I mean I don’t know -- nobody’s ever asked me that question before,’ and then I felt like I was going to throw up,” Beene said.

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https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/07/1100-plus-ohio-doctors-band-together-to-defend-reproductive-rights.html