When she came across a training opportunity for mifepristone, a drug used in early pregnancy loss and abortions, Jessica Warner put a mention of it in the May edition of the newsletter she compiled as a coordinator at the Ohio Department of Health.

An hour after she hit send, her supervisor called. It was the start of an ordeal that culminated in Warner, a sexually transmitted infections and viral hepatitis training coordinator, being fired and two other employees disciplined. An investigative report prepared by human resources described abortion topics as “off limits,” adding that “the mifepristone item in the newsletter is in direct conflict with the agency’s mission and is an embarrassment to ODH.” It also said the topic was “contrary” to the state’s mission.