“We had to leave the state to get the care I needed,” says Beth Long

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Beth and Kyle Long, an Ohio couple who faced heartbreaking loss last year, share their story in the second television ad from Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights. The tragic loss of their daughter was made even more traumatic by Ohio’s cruel abortion laws, which denied them their freedom to make their own private medical decisions and denied them their community. They were forced to leave Ohio to receive the life-saving care they needed. As Beth and Kyle make clear in the ad, if Issue 1 fails, anti-abortion politicians will have the power to enforce the existing extreme abortion ban – a ban with no exceptions for rape or incest or when a woman’s health is at risk. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

Click here to watch the new ad, featuring Beth and Kyle’s personal story.

In the ad, Beth and Kyle say: “When we first heard her heartbeat, the doctor said she’s perfect. At eighteen weeks, the doctor told us there was no way she was going to be able to live. An abortion was our only option. But the government here in Ohio took that decision away from us. We had to leave the state to get the care I needed. Because the law in Ohio is broken, voting YES on Issue 1 is the only way to fix this. What happened to us could happen to anyone. Vote YES.” After more than a decade of challenges and fertility treatments, Beth became pregnant in 2022. Initially the doctor believed the pregnancy was “perfect,” but during a sonogram at eighteen weeks that changed. They received a devastating and fatal diagnosis of “Limb Body Wall Complex,” an extremely rare and fatal condition that has never resulted in a live birth. Their physician stated that the fetus “is not compatible with survival.” In addition, the longer they waited to terminate the pregnancy the more dangerous and life-threatening the diagnosis became for Beth. Abortion was their only option. However, due to Ohio’s extreme and complicated abortion laws, Beth was forced to delay critical health care and leave Ohio to get the care she needed. “As a physician for families on their journey to become parents, I encounter the most daunting, joyful, thrilling, emotional – and unfortunately sometimes tragic – moments of their lives,” said Dr. Amy Burkett, an Ohio obstetrician and spokesperson for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights. “In these moments, women and families should be able to make the decisions that are best for them. But here in Ohio, government is making that decision for patients with horrific consequences.”

Beth and Kyle were not the only Ohioans to face devastating and life-threatening consequences due to the extreme ban. Other Ohioans were forced to endure extreme and traumatic health conditions, even losing liters of blood before receiving care. “No one should ever have their health deteriorate or need to flee their state to get care for themselves or a loved one,” said Dr. Burkett. “This is about who makes personal decisions for yourself and your family. Voting Yes on Issue 1 puts Ohioans back in charge of their families’ personal medical decisions and stops government from making these decisions for us.” Ohio Ban Background: In 2019, Ohio politicians passed an extreme abortion ban — with no exceptions for rape, incest, or to protect the health of the woman. It was blocked from taking effect because Roe v. Wade was still the law of the land. When Roe fell in June 2022, the Ohio abortion ban went into effect causing chaos for Ohio families. Shortly thereafter, the ban was temporarily blocked by a state judge. Now, the Ohio Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on September 27 and “could reinstate a controversial law that bans the vast majority of abortions” according to the Ohio Capital Journal. If approved by voters on November 7, Issue 1 would enshrine in the Ohio Constitution the right for Ohioans to make their own reproductive decisions about pregnancy, abortion, birth control, fertility treatment, and miscarriage care. It would also allow for reasonable limits on abortion after fetal viability, with protections to ensure the health and safety of patients. Read more about Beth & Kyle’s story here. Transcript of the Ad:When we first heard her heartbeat, the doctor said she’s perfect. At eighteen weeks, the doctor told us there was no way she was going to be able to live.An abortion was our only option.But the government here in Ohio took that decision away from us.We had to leave the state to get the care I needed. Because the law in Ohio is broken, voting YES on Issue 1 is the only way to fix this.What happened to us could happen to anyone. Vote YES.