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Aborted fetuses put in Ohio landfills
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Aborted fetuses from Planned Parenthood facilities in Ohio were sent to landfills, a practice the attorney general’s office called inhumane and a violation of state regulations.
Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine also said Friday that his office and state health officials will seek a legal injunction to stop the landfill disposals, with court filings expected in coming days.
“I don’t think that most Ohioans would think that this is a proper disposal or this is a humane disposal,” DeWine said during an afternoon news conference near the Statehouse. “I think Ohioans will be shocked when they find out tonight that fetuses from abortions are being cooked and then put into landfills, mixed in with all of the other garbage that’s out there. I think that’s just wrong.”
The head of Planned Parenthood of Ohio, however, countered DeWine’s conclusions, saying in a released statement that DeWine’s allegations were not true.
“Planned Parenthood contracts with vendors to handle fetal tissue in a respectful manner and in accordance with law,” said Stephanie Kight, president and chief executive officer. “It is irresponsible for the [attorney general] to say otherwise.”
Kight called DeWine’s allegations “flat-out false.”
“Planned Parenthood handles medical tissue like any other quality health care provider,” she said. “Our agreements with vendors all require them to follow state law and dispose of tissue accordingly. If they are not, then I will take swift action.”
The determination was made as part of an investigation launched by DeWine to determine whether the group was selling or otherwise illegally transferring fetal remains as part of its Ohio operations.
DeWine’s investigation confirmed that Planned Parenthood offices in Ohio did not sell fetal tissue, but the attorney general questioned its disposal methods.
According to the report, aborted fetal tissue from Planned Parenthood affiliates in Cincinnati and Columbus ended up in landfill sites in Kentucky, “apparently intermingled with other common residential and common trash,” DeWine wrote in a letter to the director of the Ohio Department of Health.
The attorney general’s office could not determine the final destination of aborted fetuses from a third Planned Parenthood facility in Bedford Heights near Cleveland.
Planned Parenthood contracts with two companies to handle the disposal of fetal tissue.
DeWine noted that state administrative code, adopted four decades ago, requires that a “fetus shall be disposed of in a humane manner.”
DeWine said there are no criminal or civil penalties available for addressing the situation. The only legal remedy, he said, was to seek an injunction to stop the inhumane disposal of aborted fetuses.
A court ultimately will decide whether Planned Parenthood and the companies contracted to handle tissue disposal violated state rules, he said.
DeWine acknowledged his office’s investigation did not seek details of how hospitals and other medical facilities handle fetal remains.
State lawmakers are already poised to introduce legislation to address the issue. Ohio Right to Life voiced support for law changes to require humane burial and cremation, increased informed consent and criminal penalties.
“The visual of Planned Parenthood carting volumes of children’s remains to a landfill speaks to their callous disregard for human life,” Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, said in a released statement. “It is a grotesque portrait of their urgent need to dispose of their victims along with the truth.”
Gov. John Kasich also voiced his support for legislation to address the issue.
In a statement, he said, “The attorney general has done thorough work, and his findings are disturbing. I’ve tasked the Ohio Department of Health to work with the attorney general to take appropriate legal action. This investigation shows the need for further work with the Ohio General Assembly to reign in Planned Parenthood, while continuing to ensure access to vital health care services for women.”
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said in release, “Disposing aborted fetuses into landfills is inhumane and reprehensible and should be stopped. I support legislative action at the state level and have begun to look at next steps at the federal level to ban this practice.”
State Rep. Kathleen Clyde, D-Kent, who opposes Republican-backed abortion-related law changes, said DeWine’s report is not surprising.
“The attempt to paint the women’s health care provider as a lawbreaker is sad and deeply troubling,” she said. “Gov. Kasich’s equally weak call for his health department to take legal action is dangerous and puts women in harm’s way.”