CLEVELAND — Leaders in Cleveland announced several policy actions on Monday in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Councilwoman Stephanie Howse said the Reproductive Freedom Fund is part of what’s needed to protect abortion access for those in Cleveland.
“Based on the money that you have in your pocket, it determines the care that you get. If you have means, you can go wherever. You have probably can have a health care provider that will work with you and do what is necessary, but when you don’t have economic means, you have limited options,” said Howse.
The fund is part of a series of announcements from Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and the council believe will protect what they call reproductive freedom.
That includes:
- City attorneys pledging not to prosecute abortion cases
- De-prioritizing enforcement
- Seeing if city employee health insurance plans cover elective abortions out of state
- A commitment to not keeping pregnancy information
- Submitting a brief to the Ohio Supreme Court as the state’s “Heartbeat Bill” faces legal challenges
“As we hear about more and more extreme measures being considered at the state level, my administration will continue to look at all possible options—executive, administrative, legislative and from the bully pulpit,” said Bibb in a statement.
Cleveland Right to Life opposed the city’s announcement, arguing it’s choosing to not follow the state’s six-week abortion ban, which became law after the overturn of Roe v. Wade after Attorney General Dave Yost filed a motion to dissolve the injunction on it, placed by a judge in 2019.
“There are laws on the books that I’m sure people don’t like or don’t agree with or even find morally reprehensible. But to just say we’re not going to enforce these laws, I think that is the absolute opposite of representative government,” said Kate Makra, executive director of Cleveland Right to Life. “We passed a law to protect life in this state, and it’s baffling to me how so many have such a hard time with that.”
Cleveland Right to Life didn’t share specifics, but did say the organization is looking into ways to combat the policies.
