How Ohio’s state budget could change abortion reporting, what data is shared

Before Governor Mike DeWine signed Ohio’s Fiscal Years 2026-2027 operating budget into law, WCPO in Cincinnati shared a story of what the new abortion reporting dashboard would entail for reporting abortions in the Buckeye State. The provision stayed in the final budget and it is now required law for Ohio to create an abortion reporting dashboard.

From the story: If not vetoed or changed by DeWine, monthly data of abortions performed across the state would be accessible on an online public dashboard.

According to the budget, information including age, race, marital status, ZIP code and number of previous pregnancies would be collected from patients receiving abortion care.

The budget states that the info “shall be confidential and shall not contain the woman’s name,” but some of the data will be available on the public dashboard.

That data includes:

• The number of abortions performed on Ohio residents, sorted by age
• The number performed on out-of-state residents, sorted by age
• The age of the woman on whom the abortion was performed
• The race and ethnicity of the woman on whom the abortion was performed
• The education level of the woman on whom the abortion was performed
• The marital status of the woman on whom the abortion was performed
• The number of living children of the woman on whom the abortion was performed
• The number of weeks of gestation of the woman at the time the abortion was performed
• The type of abortion procedure performed
• The number of zygotes, blastocytes, embryos, or fetuses previously aborted by the woman on whom the abortion was performed
• The type of facility in which the abortion was performed
• For Ohio residents, the county of residence of the woman on whom the abortion was performed
• The total number of abortions performed on minors by each facility in the categories of under 16 years of age and 16-17 years of age

The report will also include the number and type of abortion complications reported to the department, according to the budget. It also states that the department shall make available, on request, the number of abortions performed by ZIP code of residence.

Cincinnati Right to Life Executive Director Laura Strietmann told WCPO that they were a major proponent is the proposed changes.

“The preborn-child-execution-by-choice reporting mechanism in Ohio is archaic and overdue for an update,” she said in a statement. “It is good news the budget is requiring a dashboard with real-time reporting of pre-born deaths in Ohio. The COVID pandemic daily reporting of deaths proves it is possible for the Ohio abortion industry to report real-time pre-born child death that takes place in the for-profit abortion facilities.” FULL WCPO STORY