Require Notice of Chemical Abortion Reversal Option

HB783 does one foundational thing: it insists that a woman beginning a chemical abortion be told, before she takes mifepristone, that it may be possible to reverse the process if she changes her mind, and that time is of the essence. The provider or the provider's agent must deliver that message verbally and then, immediately after dispensing mifepristone, hand her printed discharge instructions that include the Department of Health's hotline and web site and a specific written statement about the possibility of reversal. That requirement does not activate until the Department has actually posted the required information, giving the state time to build the resource before providers are held to the standard.

Behind that disclosure requirement, the bill constructs a real public infrastructure. Within 90 days of the section taking effect, the Department of Health must establish a stable web site with reversal information, a directory of participating providers, a toll-free hotline, and a clear statement that seeking emergency care carries no legal penalty. The Department must also launch a comprehensive public awareness program, producing print, audio, electronic, and disability-accessible materials, and distributing them to every state and local health department office, every county job and family services location, publicly funded clinics, and the Department's own social media channels. A 24-hour, 7-day-a-week hotline providing reversal information and provider referrals is also required. All of this is backed by a dedicated fund, the Unborn Child Education and Public Information Fund, which can receive appropriations, private donations, and grants and whose expenditures are limited strictly to building and maintaining these resources.

Accountability runs in multiple directions. A woman who was not given the required notice may bring a civil action. The biological father may do the same if paternity is established. Grandparents may sue if the woman was a minor or has died as a result of the abortion. Courts awarding damages to prevailing plaintiffs must include actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney's fees. The attorney general or a local prosecutor may also act, but only after giving the provider at least 30 days to come into compliance. Civil penalties reach up to $5,000 per day for violations and up to an additional $10,000 per knowing violation. The pregnant woman herself is expressly shielded from any civil penalty under the section.

The American Council reads this bill as a straightforward act of respect for the person most directly affected. A woman who has taken mifepristone but not yet misoprostol exists in a window of time where a decision can still be reconsidered. Giving her accurate, timely information about that window is not coercive; it is the minimum that informed consent demands. We believe every patient deserves complete information, and we believe the state has both the authority and the obligation to make sure that information reaches her. HB783 does exactly that, and we ask every Ohioan of conscience to contact their legislator and urge a yes vote.