Abortions in Ohio Hit All-Time Low Last Year: 5,000 Pregnancies Terminated Legally In Hamilton County

Ohio Health Department County Stats

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- State health statistics show there were 28,721 abortions performed in Ohio in 2009, the lowest number since the 1980s when records began to be kept.  Ohio Right to Life said there has been a 40% decline in pregnancy terminations over the decades, and that the downward trend has been consistent and steady since the year 2000.  Still, the Ohio Department of Health's annual report contained some disturbing data.  There were 190 girls under age 15 who had abortions last year.  Were they sexually active or victims of child molesters?  The report does not offer any clues.  Overall, 18% of Ohio abortions involved women under the of 20; 83% were single and 41% were African American.  Said Ohio Right to Life Executive Director Mike Gonidakis, whose organization has posted the state health department's annual report:

"We are winning the fight against those who push abortion as the first and sometimes only choice for women in crisis.  We continue to witness a trend of Ohioans moving towards a firm respect for life.  One of the reasons for the continued decline in abortions has been the enactment of new laws which help young women make positive decisions for themselves and their babies.  Whenever you have even the slightest legislative gain that protects women and defends her baby, it will make a difference.” 

The Ohio Right to Life press release is available here. The full text of the Ohio Health Department's report on Ohio abortions in 2009 is accessible by clicking here. The documents contains data going back to 1997. Reaction to the numbers has been muted. Right Ohio blogger Matt Naugle said, "Any abortion is horrendous and an act of murder," but he was first to publish the numbers and noted the decline. On the Democratic left, Plunderbund called the declining number a positive development:

"The reduction in the number of abortions in Ohio IS good news and providing women with as much information as possible and as many options as possible SHOULD be everyone’s goal. That’s because we all have the same goal: reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies in Ohio. And, based on the statistics, that has been happening, and happening rather quickly in the past few years."

Columbus TV News Health Segments: Ohio State Pays Stations $250,000 For Stories

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- TV news health stories that feature medical breakthroughs at Ohio State University's hospital have been paid for by the school. The university forks out nearly $250,000 each year for on-the-air coverage by two local stations in Columbus

Some believe the practice is nothing but advertising being disguised as legitimate journalism, or gussied up payola. The OSU-funded health segments appear on Channel 10 and Channel 4 in Columbus, and disclosures about financial ties has started to raise disturbing questions about paid propaganda and deception. The nub: Should anybody trust or believe TV news if broadcasters take money from those who appear as the subjects of newscasts? Such financial arrangements would appear to undercut any claims of journalistic independence and freedom. It looks like somebody is buying, and the other party is selling.

Gary Schmitz, who is at the University of Minnesota's school of journalism, says OSU's arrangement with the Columbus broadcasters is PR because the medical center paid its way onto the newscasts.

"Columbus residents join the long list of television news audiences all over the country who have been spoonfed one-sided PR and advertising messages from medical centers paying their way onto newscasts. The fact is that a supposed 'news' organization would accept these deals is an embarrassment to the TV news industry."

The story about OSU's payments comes from The Other Paper, where reporter Steph Gregor found marketing execs who said the anchor-hosted health segments play off viewer trust in TV reporters. She also says some of the segments have omitted details like the cost of procedures, or facts like mortality rates. Gregor's story made it clear that the line between marketing and news has been blurred.