This is an extraordinary time for Women Have Options – and one of immense and exciting change. After 22 years as an all-volunteer organization, and an eighteen-month planning and hiring process, we have our first staff Executive Director, Stephanie Craddock Sherwood. The board made the decision to transition from an all-volunteer organization because we recognized the need for WHO/O to expand our reach to make abortion affordable and safe for all women in Ohio.

Black Lives Matter! Say it with us!

Women Have Options Statement of Solidarity with Black Lives Matter

In the wake of the ongoing murder of innocent people of color by law enforcement, the board and staff of Women Have Options feel that we must publically speak out about the issue of racist violence; especially the structural and state-supported racism that too frequently manifests as overzealous, brutal, and fatal policing. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims and we mourn with them for every life that is lost to racially motivated violence.

We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and other organizations working for justice, respect, safety, and dignity for communities of color. We echo the National Network of Abortion Funds with this call to action: “If you have not been paying attention, this is the time to start. If you have been paying attention and have remained silent, this is the time to speak. If you have been speaking and unwilling to take action, this is the time to act. If you have been acting, it is time to get louder.”

Women Have Options is proud to announce the release of the newly redesigned womenhaveoptions.org. It has been crafted to reflect what the organization needs now but also builds upon technology capable of addressing future needs and growth. The new website and branding has a fresh, professional look designed to reflect the work we do as a organization and to better serve the needs of our community.

WHO/O is pleased to announce that Stephanie Craddock Sherwood will join Women Have Options
as our first-ever executive director beginning on April 4, 2016.

As a longtime spokesperson and advocate of reproductive rights with a long history of service as a skilled non-profit professional, she is the right person to help us strengthen our efforts so that all Ohioans can enjoy reproductive freedom and access to care.

Women Have Options is a private, statewide fund that helps women afford their reproductive choice by providing financial assistance for contraception, emergency contraception, and abortion services. There is a need for financial assistance for abortion care because Ohio Medicaid, the joint federal and state health insurance program for low-income Americans, pays for pre-natal care and childbirth, but does not pay for abortion care. Why, you ask? Here is the answer.