“We cannot be in a place where we’re telling people to just abstain, it’s more than just that,” said Brent. As of 2019, Ohio’s Black infant mortality rate was nearly triple that of white infants, according to ODH.
“We are going back to a time where the private conversations about a woman being pregnant are not between her and her doctor, they are between her and the legal system,” said State Representative Juanita Brent, who sits on Ohio’s Black Maternal Health Caucus.īrent explained that any decision surrounding abortions will impact women of color disproportionately. To be even more specific, Cuyahoga County had the most abortions at 31.5%. CLEVELAND, Ohio - According to the Ohio Department of Health, more Black women statewide had an abortion in 2020 than any other race, about 48%.
