Courtesy Chris Ronayne
Chris Ronayne
Democratic candidate for Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne announced Friday a suite of policy proposals to ensure reproductive protection in Cuyahoga County.
Ronayne said he would immediately assemble a "Women's Health Action Team" composed of medical professionals, reproductive health experts and those with lived experiences of abortion. He said he introduce legislation in Cuyahoga County Council to prohibit the use of county funds for investigations into abortion care. And, just like Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and city council are currently exploring at the city level, he wants to ensure that reproductive healthcare is covered under county health insurance plans. To further financially provide for county employees, he said he would institute a travel reimbursement policy for employees that must travel to receive reproductive healthcare services.
“We must protect the health and privacy of Cuyahoga County residents and County employees,” said Ronayne, in a press release. “The 6-week abortion ban will prevent many of our residents from accessing the medical care they need and will disproportionally impact poor and minority communities. We must act quickly to protect women and their families across the county.”
Ronayne said that he would do "everything possible" to protect the health of county residents and would continue to fight for reproductive freedom in the face of an extremist Republican legislature downstate. He has previously noted that his Republican opponent in the county executive race, Lee Weingart, has been silent on abortion in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
"His blatant disregard for women’s health, choice & self-determination shows why he cannot be our next Cuyahoga Executive," Ronayne wrote on June 25.
Weingart has clapped back at Ronayne's current policy proposals, criticizing in particular Ronayne's pledge not to use county funds for abortion investigations.
***@chrisronayne pledges not to do something the County already doesn't do. Yet, when the County engages in illegal spending, he is mum. Listen to the PD podcast, Today in Ohio, here: https://t.co/ix59NHj21l. They say repeatedly, Ronayne has no spine. Why would anyone trust him? https://t.co/Q7EXCIi4Q9
— Lee Weingart (@weingart2022) June 28, 2022
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