The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Cincinnati on behalf of three Planned Parenthood locations where abortions are performed, is seeking a restraining order and a preliminary injunction against the state of Ohio. The attorney general’s investigation, released Friday, found that Planned Parenthood clinics in Bedford Heights, Cincinnati and Columbus improperly disposed of fetal remains.
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Planned Parenthood has said some fetal tissue is donated for medical research.
Planned Parenthood attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against the Ohio Health Department on Sunday, claiming the state’s attorney general is attempting to ban abortions.
Planned Parenthood’s two OH affiliates say the 1975 regulation, which says, “The fetus shall be disposed of in a humane manner”, is vague and unenforceable, and that it has complied with standard health regulations. Ohio Administrative Code states “a fetus shall be disposed of in a humane manner”, but does not further define humane disposal and no penalties or violations are listed.
“Politicians in Ohio will stop at nothing to ban abortion in all cases in our state”, said Stephanie Knight, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio.
Furthermore, the Planned Parenthood affiliate investigated in Bedford Heights, Ohio stated that it used a specific company for disposal.
She added that the Ohio Department of Health had inspected Planned Parenthood’s health centers annually for the past decade, and at no time raised concerns about the disposal practices.
Secretly recorded videos made by a conservative anti-abortion group that were released over the summer have led to multiple congressional and state investigations into Planned Parenthood, and they’ve been a hot topic on the presidential campaign.
Planned Parenthood said it didn’t hear from health officials about the alleged violation until the group reached out to them Friday. The attorney general’s office failed to let Planned Parenthood address the allegations, attorneys for the organization said.
“This sudden and targeted treatment is no doubt motivated by his animus to a woman’s right to safe and legal abortion and to Planned Parenthood in particular”, the attorneys wrote. “I’ve tasked the Ohio Department of Health to work with the attorney general to take appropriate legal action”.
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Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in the GOP-controlled Ohio House planned a Monday news conference to announce legislation following the attorney general’s investigation.
