Study: Half of births in Ohio were from unintended pregnancies

SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR

COLUMBUS — About half of the births in Ohio are the result of unintended pregnancies, something some groups blame on what they see as the state’s lagging policies on family planning.

The Coalition for Family Health also said Ohio ranks 48th among states and the District of Columbia in access to contraceptives.

“Ohio is among the worst states in the nation in terms of access to family planning,” said Judi Wolf, the Ohio public-affairs chairwoman for the National Council of Jewish Women.

The coalition has about 30 member organizations from across the state, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Association of University Women, the Public Children’s Services Association of Ohio and Planned Parenthood.

The group is pushing for state legislation, called the Ohio Prevention First Act, to require sex-education classes with “medically accurate health information about abstinence, contraception and condom use.”

The legislation also would create a statewide task force to recommend policy changes to lower teen pregnancy rates and provide emergency contraception for sexual- assault victims in all hospital emergency rooms.

According to the coalition’s study, about half of the births in Ohio between 2004 and 2007 were the result of unintended pregnancies. In 2004, Ohioans spent about $460 million on medical costs related to those pregnancies, the coalition said.