Ohio Planned Parenthood suit accuses state authorities of aiming to block abortion access

Reproductive health care group Planned Parenthood on Monday accused Ohio authorities of trying to restrict access to abortion following allegations from the state attorney general that the group illegally dumped foetuses in landfills.

On Friday, Ohio Attorney General Mark DeWine announced the results of an investigation into whether local Planned Parenthoods sell foetal tissue from abortions. The probe was launched after abortion opponents at Center for Medical Progress earlier this year released heavily edited hidden-camera videos purporting to show that Planned Parenthood sells fetal tissue from abortions for scientific research, a charge that the organisation denies.

The Ohio investigation found no evidence that the group sells foetal tissue but found instead “that aborted fetuses from Planned Parenthood facilities are ultimately disposed of in landfill sites,” a press release on the Attorney General Office’s website said.

Attorney General DeWine called the alleged illegal dumping “completely inhumane.”

Planned Parenthood, which has three affiliates in Ohio, denied the allegations that it engaged in the illegal activity and on Sunday filed for a restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop the state from barring its partnership with contractees that dispose of the foetuses.

“The legislature in Ohio has done everything possible to eliminate access to safe, legal abortion here — secretly writing abortion restrictions into law, working to close health centers, and even appointing the head of Ohio Right to Life [Mike Gonidakis] to the state medical board,” Danielle Craig, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region told The Independent on Monday.

According to the court filings seen by The Independent, Planned Parenthood disposes of the tissue with “respect” and in according to state safety standards.

Ohio Attorney General Office spokesman Dan Tierney confirmed to The Independent that the lawsuit had been filed but declined to offer further comment “as our attorneys are currently in discussions with the plaintiffs” and judge.

The probe is part of an overall push by state authorities to restrict access to reproductive health care, according to Planned Parenthood’s Ms Craig.

“In recent years, Ohio has shuttered more abortion providers than any other state but Texas, even forcing women to cross the border into Michigan to get abortions. This is just part of a longstanding political agenda to ban abortion in all cases," she said.