Is Cleveland’s plan to pay for abortion travel innovative policy, or a step too far?

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Using public money to help Clevelanders obtain out-of-state abortions may draw opposition from some taxpayers. But experts say the idea — put forth by Mayor Justin Bibb and City Council in response to the state’s strict prohibitions — is in keeping with the mission of city government, particularly in Ohio where cities have strong home-rule authority.

It’s also a natural extension of cities’ traditional role as policy innovators and as units of government most attuned to the day-to-day realities of the people they serve. And, in some ways, it represents the culmination of broader recent political trends that have left cities holding the bag in all sorts of policy areas, given federal inaction and state laws that increasingly don’t align with the needs or preferences of urban voters.