Steinem Sisters Talking Circle on Women and Health in NW Ohio

The Steinem Sisters Collection will discuss the impacts of cuts to Medicaid/Medicare, health insurance subsidies, and Ohio’s reproductive care landscape, as well as our experiences with healthcare in Northwest Ohio. Two local health experts will be joining us for our discussion: Dr. Erin Marten, owner and founder of Solace Health; and Kristin Hady, board member of The Aggie Fund, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring abortion access in Toledo and the surrounding areas. Healthcare access is being restricted in Ohio through laws passed at the federal and state level that local organizations are working to navigate. (Ohio Capital Journal articles from March 31, 2026; July 1, 2026; July 17, 2026).

The Urban Institute released data from the 2024 – 2025 Reproductive Health Experiences and Access Survey, a study looking to determine the impact of the overturning of nationwide abortion legalization on reproductive healthcare. Between 2024 and 2025, 30% of Ohio residents participating in the study reported needing but not getting one or more types of care. Reproductive healthcare noted in the study were services like pelvic exams, cervical cancer screenings, care for irregular or painful periods, birth control, fertility assistance, gender-affirming care, and menopause care. “Barriers to reproductive healthcare were not spread evenly across the population,” one researcher wrote. “Young people, people with disabilities, and those who identify as LGBTQIA+ were more likely to report challenges to access.”

Reproductive health isn’t the only issue affecting the health of women in Ohio—rural access to medical assistance is declining in general due to the high costs of insurance while funding for residency education for doctors is being cut, exacerbating current declines in the number of new doctors. New Medicaid work requirements that are part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act claim to break the cycle of dependency on state and federal aid. But in Ohio they will take health coverage away from huge numbers of who are already employed, in school, or are caregivers, according to analysis that was published this spring. It could take coverage away from a full half—356,000—of those who get coverage under a 2014 expansion of Medicaid eligibility as part of the Affordable Care Act. These losses are in addition to at least 113,000 Ohioans who have already lost health coverage this year after Congress allowed tax credits in the Affordable Care Act marketplace to expire. That number is sure to grow, and nearly half of those losing coverage work for or own small businesses. Nationally, between 5 and 10 million low-income Americans covered by their states’ Medicaid expansions will lose their insurance.

Share your thoughts and experiences at our next Talking Circle on Women and Health at the Reynolds Corners Branch on Wednesday, October 21 at 6:30 p.m.

The Steinem Sisters Collection champions women’s historical, cultural, and political contributions and strives to provide a welcoming space for women from all walks of life to share their truths. It is composed of feminist materials, intersectional works that uphold human and women’s rights and interests in defining and promoting political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes, races, classes, sexual orientations, and genders. The Steinem Sisters Collection has grown to over 900 titles in the 10 years since its inception. Regular programming, including book discussion groups and talking circles, aims to highlight the collection and build community. This collection was possible due to a generous donation by The Steinem’s Sisters Collective.