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Rhiannon Carnes is a mother, grandmother, and the founder and executive director of Ohio Women’s Alliance and Ohio Women’s Alliance Action Fund.
Beulah Oseuke is the interim executive director of New Voices for Reproductive Justice.
As Black women who lead Ohio organizations that prioritize reproductive justice and birth justice, we feel it’s important to speak about the nuances of reproductive freedom at this pivotal moment in our state’s history.
I (Rhiannon) was pregnant at 16 and gave birth most recently at 44.
As someone who has a nearly 30-year reproductive life cycle, including adoption, miscarriage care, abortion, and giving birth, having access to abortion was critical in all of my pregnancies—planned and unplanned—abortion access provided me with life-saving care. I believe that the fight for reproductive freedom is not binary.
Opinion:Abortion industry wants to sink its hooks further into Black women. Issue 1 proof
It’s not just a choice between terminating a pregnancy or giving birth.
Reproductive freedom encompasses the need for complete autonomy when making decisions about our physical and mental health, without the threats of systemic oppression that has a daily, immeasurable impact on the most marginalized amongst us, especially Black communities.
More:Issue 1 opponents want Ohio to have the most extreme abortion ban in US. Don’t let them.
I know passing Issue 1 will make Ohio families and communities safer by protecting access to abortion.
Access to abortion saves lives.
Abortion extends far beyond the termination of an unwanted pregnancy; it prevents detrimental outcomes for pregnant people and their families, and lowers maternal mortality rates across race and socioeconomic status.
Abortion access increases the opportunity for people to birth their children in environments that are safe, healthy, and sustainable, equipping families with the resources to thrive.
Abortion access is birth justice, and we must vote “yes” today to protect it.
At Ohio Women’s Alliance and New Voices for Reproductive Justice, we believe birth justice encompasses the crucial rights that empower pregnant people to have the birth outcome that they want and deserve.
This means equitable access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care, including pre- and post-natal care, mental health care, and abortion care. Birth justice requires access to basic resources and support like food, housing, and living in a safe and sustainable community.
Even for those who want to carry their pregnancy to term, if we don’t have access to healthy and sustainable living conditions, is there justice in giving birth?
At its core, birth justice is about ensuring individuals have bodily autonomy, economic means, and community support to make their own decisions about if and how to start and grow their families.
Black women in Ohio are 2.6 times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than white women, and research shows that maternal mortality rates in states with abortion bans are 62% higher than in states with abortion access.
That means a Black woman in a state where abortion is banned is 4.2 times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than a white woman in a state with abortion access. The option to access abortion care is vital. Many people have high-risk pregnancies, and—should abortion be inaccessible—face a higher likelihood of devastating negative birth outcomes.
Over half—61%—of deaths related to pregnancy have been described by the Ohio Department of Health as preventable. The main factors leading to these deaths include mental health (deaths related to depression, anxiety, and substance abuse), followed closely by medical causes including infection, hemorrhage, and more.
For people with high-risk pregnancies, or people with a disproportionate risk of maternal mortality, having the ability to access abortion care is essential. This is especially true for people of color and low-income Ohioans, who already face disproportionate risk during their pregnancies.
If our pregnancy outcomes are in the hands of those who do not understand our incredibly personal and unique experiences with pregnancy, birth, and reproductive health care, then Ohio will never know birth justice.
How are Ohio families supposed to thrive if we’re forced to give birth without regard for our health, wellbeing, resources, or future? How are we meant to live a prosperous life if we have no power, justice, or equity before, during, or after we give birth?
Extremists who are opposed to Issue 1 rely on spreading disinformation about abortion access, because they know that if the truth about abortion is revealed—that it is essential, lifesaving healthcare—they will lose. Issue 1 will protect our power to make private decisions about pregnancy outcomes, and is a step in the right direction toward ensuring birth justice for every Ohioan.
Rhiannon Carnes is a mother, grandmother, and the founder and executive director of Ohio Women’s Alliance and Ohio Women’s Alliance Action Fund. Born and raised in Ohio, Carnes is a veteran of the United States Airforce and has been fighting for reproductive justice for nearly 30 years.
Beulah Oseuke is the interim executive director of New Voices for Reproductive Justice. Her organizing, narrative strategy, and leadership development work is rooted in community and power building, with particular focus on centering the needs, hopes, and experiences of those most marginalized by society.
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