Ohio sits in a region where abortion laws are very strict. Restrictions on the procedure in Ohio are similar to the regulations in the neighboring states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Kentucky. Nearby West Virginia, however, has more lenient laws regarding abortion.
NARAL Pro-Choice America, which rates states according to their permissiveness in abortion laws, gave Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Kentucky grades of F in its analysis. On the other hand, the pro-choice organization gave a B- to West Virginia.
Vote Now: Do You Support Tougher Regulations on Abortion Clinics?
Abortion laws in West Virginia require a woman to receive state-sponsored counseling about the procedure and then wait 24 hours before having the
abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute. West Virginia also requires notification of the parent of a minor who wants an abortion.
Ohio and the other states in the region have the same counseling and notification requirements, but also have additional restrictions on abortion. In Ohio, public funding, health insurance policies for public employees and health plans under the Affordable Care Act only cover abortion in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.
Michigan has a similar law for its health insurance plans, but allows the purchase of optional riders at additional costs to cover abortion. Indiana allows the optional riders for private insurance policies.
Women preparing for an abortion in Ohio undergo ultrasounds because of requirements for providers to test for a fetal heartbeat, according to Guttmacher. Regulations making it difficult to operate an abortion clinic and other restrictions reduced the number of abortion providers in the state by half between 2011 and 2015,
The Associated Press reported. Seven of 16 abortion providers in Ohio have either closed or cut abortion services.
Pro-life advocates support a so-called “heartbeat bill,” which would ban abortions as early as six weeks into the pregnancy when a fetal heartbeat is detected. States normally can restrict abortions when the fetus would be viable outside of the womb, usually between 24 and 28 weeks,
according to the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
Vote Here: Should Abortion Clinics Be Subject to Tougher Regulations?
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.