The Dayton Women's Health Center, or DWHC, opened on September 7, 1973. Located on South Dixie Highway in Kettering, it provided a variety of women's reproductive health care services, including pregnancy tests, birth control, and abortions. Having opened only months after the Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion in the United States, the DWHC was the first legal abortion clinic in Dayton, and the first such non-profit facility in Ohio.
The organizers behind the DWHC were Jan Griesinger, Anita Wilson, and Laurie Heindal. Jan was a member of Dayton Women's Liberation, a local women's rights organization, and Clergy and Lay, an abortion consultation service. Anita Wilson was previously involved with the Ohio Abortion Alliance, and, along with Laurie Heindal, was a counselor for Clergy and Lay. The three met in January 1973 to discuss Dayton's need for a women's health clinic to provide birth control and safe, legal, affordable abortions. Anita and Laurie became co-directors of the new clinic, and Anita went on to direct it until 1997.
Due to its controversial nature as an abortion clinic, the DWHC attracted the attention of many pro-life activists, who often picketed outside the clinic, waving signs, distributing literature, chanting, and yelling. In 1986, the DWHC became involved in a court case against David Enix and other pro-life activists, who had been picketing persistently outside the clinic. The Montgomery County Common Pleas Court ruled in the clinic's favor, and the DWHC was granted an injunction against picketers. The case was then tried in the Montgomery County Court of Appeals, and finally the Ohio Supreme Court, but the verdict was upheld. In 1993, the DWHC successfully sued Enix for payment of attorney fees.
During its 24 year existence, the DWHC provided services to 45,000 women. The clinic closed on April 4, 1997. It was sold to the Dayton Women's Medical Center, which continues to operate a women's health clinic in Kettering today.
From the guide to the Dayton Women's Health Center Records, 1972-1997, (Wright State University, Special Collections and Archives)
