Planned Parenthood probe prompts legislation from Ohio GOP
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Majority Republicans in the Ohio House plan to unveil new legislation Monday that targets Planned Parenthood facilities following the state attorney general's investigation into the organization.
Attorney General Mike DeWine said his office found no evidence that Planned Parenthood made money from aborted fetuses, but his report instead criticized Planned Parenthood facilities for disposing of fetal remains in landfills.
On Friday, DeWine accused the organization of violating a state rule requiring that fetal tissue be disposed of in a "humane manner." He said he planned to file an injunction Monday to prevent Planned Parenthood from disposing of fetal remains as its affiliates have done.
Planned Parenthood calls the report "inflammatory." The group says its three facilities that provide abortions follow Ohio law and use the same practices as hospitals and other facilities, which generally contract with companies to dispose of medical waste.
Stephanie Kight, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, said the disposal process is handled safely and respectfully. The tissue is processed and sent to a solid waste facility that's specifically licensed for medical material — not a typical landfill, she said in a Sunday interview.
Planned Parenthood sought to pre-empt the state's injunction with a legal filing of its own Sunday.
The group filed a federal lawsuit against the state's health director, accusing him of changing the interpretation of the state fetal tissue disposal rule. Planned Parenthood asked the court to block Ohio officials from taking any action and allow the organization and health department to sort out any issues related to the regulations.
"The reality is that we handle medical tissue just like other health care providers do, and we always have," Kight said in a statement. "We're inspected regularly to ensure that we're handling fetal tissue properly and legally."
In its lawsuit, Planned Parenthood said it's always abided by the directive that fetal tissue be disposed in a "humane" manner and has never been cited by the Ohio Department of Health, which licenses abortion facilities in Ohio, for violating those regulations.
Attorneys for Planned Parenthood accused the state's health director, Richard Hodges, of abandoning his standard process of providing notice of alleged noncompliance and providing an opportunity to correct such issues.
A health department spokeswoman said the agency doesn't comment on pending litigation.
DeWine announced an investigation in mid-July after anti-abortion activists began releasing undercover videos they said showed Planned Parenthood personnel negotiating the sale of fetal organs.
Planned Parenthood said some fetal tissue is donated for medical research, but such donations are illegal in Ohio. A Planned Parenthood state leader has said no donation program exists here.