The attorney general’s investigation also found no evidence that Planned Parenthood clinics in OH sold fetal tissue – the original subject of the probe.
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The investigation was initiated in July to explore whether Planned Parenthood affiliates in Bedford Heights, Cincinnati and Columbus were violating OH law by selling fetal tissue or abortion trafficking.
Planned Parenthood officials called the claims “bogus” after DeWine, a Republican, threatened to take legal action against the group.
Asked where Planned Parenthood thought the fetal remains ended up, if not landfills, Kight responded, “The Ohio attorney general hasn’t said that any law has been broken”. Because of what the man said, which seems as though he was influenced by some of the rhetoric that was coming out of you and others that painted a very ugly picture and an unfair one, about Planned Parenthood?
“Disposing of aborted fetuses from an abortion by sending them to a landfill is callous and completely inhumane”. “We work with licensed medical removal companies to handle fetal tissue respectfully and safely”.
The federal lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood claims DeWine’s allegations are false and inflammatory, motivated by politics with the intent to ban abortion in Ohio.
According to DeWine’s office, the three Planned Parenthood offices that perform abortions in the state contract with Stericycle, a medical and pharmaceutical waste management company, and Accu Medical Waste, a medical waste management disposal company.
Nationally and in Missouri, Planned Parenthood has been taking political fire for months, beginning with last summer’s release of a series of videos by an anti-abortion group. He plans to seek an injunction Monday to prevent Planned Parenthood from disposing of fetal remains in landfills.
Planned Parenthood affiliates learned of the results of the investigation through the media, rather than through formal communication with the state’s Department of Health.
Schaefer said the committee wasn’t asking for private health records and said Planned Parenthood could have redacted personally identifiable information from documents.
In a letter provided to the Associated Press and sent to Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, who issued the subpoena, an attorney for Planned Parenthood questioned the Senate’s authority to subpoena private organizations and raised patient privacy and other concerns.
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A health department spokeswoman says the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
