Ohio
'In time, it could have implications for us': IVF fears persist in Ohio, Kentucky following Alabama ruling
CINCINNATI — Alabama’s Supreme Court ruling that embryos critical for reproductive care were legally the same as children has had wide-reaching impacts — including more than 500 miles away in the greater Cincinnati area where the Institute for Reproductive Health serves patients in Florence and Norwood.
Medical Director Thomas Burwinkel said the ruling has caused concern among patients in Kentucky and Ohio that their treatments could be delayed or ended amid the uncertain climate created after the federal Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade.
“Our patients are coming in and asking, ‘Does this Supreme Court decision in Alabama have any effect on our embryos at our clinic?’ I said, ‘It doesn’t right now, but who knows?’ In time, it could have implications for us,” Burwinkel said.
Burwinkel said he’s performed in vitro fertilization on patients for 35 years, nearly 20 of them with the Institute for Reproductive Health, and the uncertain atmosphere created by recent rulings has left him asking whether criminal prosecutions could follow the loss of embryos routine to the practice.
“If somebody in a lab drops a culture dish and embryos are lost, is that going to be considered murder or manslaughter?” he said.
The rhetoric of groups like Ohio Right to Life and Kentucky Right to Life equating embryos to born children exacerbated his fears.
Addia Wuchner, President of Kentucky Right to Life, said her organization wouldn’t push for any law changes in Kentucky, but she agreed with the Alabama ruling.
“They ruled appropriately recognizing that those were lives,” Wuchner said.
Ohio Right to Life’s Mike Gonidakis said the Alabama Supreme Court was correct to place a higher weight on the value of embryos, but, like Wuchner, said Ohio didn’t need stricter laws on IVF.
Gonidakis said a facility that destroyed embryos through negligence or malpractice would need to face consequences which, he said, was effectively what the Alabama Supreme Court ruled.
“The court said this isn’t just a widget,” he said. “These are embryos. These are living, breathing, future children, boys, girls, what have you. The court said it could be held to a higher standard.”
Burwinkel pushed back on the concept embryos, which are fertilized eggs yet to be implanted in a woman’s uterus, could be weighed on the same level as born children or developed fetuses.
“It does not have fingers, toes, it does not have arms or legs, it doesn’t have a brain. It doesn’t have a heartbeat. It’s just a collection of 120 to 150 cells,” he said.
Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear told reporters Thursday he would sign IVF protections if they arrived on his desk.
“The Alabama Supreme Court ruling is horrendous,” Beshear said. “It’s terrible, and it’s going to keep families that are there in Alabama from welcoming new children into this world.
Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday called the ruling a non-issue in Ohio.
“I don’t think there’s any movement at all in Ohio to try to stop that. In fact, the law would prohibit stopping it,” said DeWine.
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CINCINNATI (WKRC) — Sixty percent of children in Ohio are not ready for kindergarten when they start school.
Now, a national nonprofit is working to change that by expanding access to books and promoting early literacy across the state.
Sixty percent of children in Ohio are not ready for kindergarten when they start school. (WKRC file)
Nedra Smith has seen the difference firsthand. Her two young daughters receive books through the program at their pediatrician visits at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
“They love to read now,” Smith said. “We’ll randomly be out and they’ll see a book and want to read a book.”
Reach Out and Read partners with pediatricians to give children books during regular checkups and encourage parents to read aloud with them. The program has been part of Cincinnati Children’s for more than a decade.
“They typically come in and tell us they got new books,” Smith said. “They typically ask me to read the book right then and there.”
Program leaders say early literacy is increasingly being recognized as an important part of a child’s overall health and development.
“Initially, literacy may not have been in the forefront or seen as a health benefit,” said Kristy High, program manager for Reach Out and Read. “Well-child checks focus on shots, nutrition, and those things; but now we want to focus on those main benefits for the development and milestones when it comes to learning.”
The organization is now working to expand its reach statewide, with a goal of serving children in all 88 Ohio counties.
“We know that those first five years of life are the most critical for brain development,” said Steven Lake, executive director of Reach Out and Read Ohio. “If we can intervene as early as possible, essentially, we reach out at birth; we know we can have the greatest impact.”
Smith encourages other parents to participate in the program and read to their children.
“It’s fun,” Smith said. “It’s actually fun to see them light up, and I think they’ll pass that on to their own kids as well.”
Reach Out and Read also partners with providers in Kentucky and Indiana. You can find a participating provider near you on the organization’s website.
If you are a doctor looking to participate in the program, click here.
The Ohio Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 10, 2026, results for each game:
Pick 3
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.
Midday: 8-6-2
Evening: 7-0-5
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.
Midday: 9-4-7-0
Evening: 0-6-1-8
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 5
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.
Midday: 1-7-3-7-4
Evening: 9-0-8-8-0
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Rolling Cash 5
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at approximately 7:05 p.m.
16-19-33-36-38
Check Rolling Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at approximately 11:15 p.m.
01-03-20-35-46, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Enquirer digital news director. You can send feedback using this form.
Ryan Day will have some very familiar competition in the Big 10 soon.
The son of the Ohio State football coach, R.J. Day, announced his commitment to Northwestern for the Class of 2027 on Sunday.
Northwestern plays in the same conference as Ohio State and the schools will face each other.
R.J. Day, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound quarterback from — not surprisingly — Columbus, Ohio, has started for three years at St. Francis DeSales HS as he heads towards his senior season.
According to reports, the younger Day had other offers from Purdue, Syracuse, Cincinnati and South Florida, as well as others.
Northwestern has eight quarterbacks on head coach David Braun’s roster.
And the offensive coordinator for the Wildcats is Chip Kelly, who served in the same role for Ryan Day at Ohio State when the Buckeyes won the title in 2024.
Kelly, the former head coach at UCLA and Oregon, was also the offensive coordinator at New Hampshire when Ryan Day was the team captain from 1998-2001.
Most recently, Kelly was the OC with the Las Vegas Raiders before he took the job with Northwestern.
“It’s really surreal when you think about the relationships that we’ve had with those two as a family over the years,” R.J. Day told ESPN earlier this month. “Coach Kelly coached my dad in college, so that adds another layer to it.”
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