Planned Parenthood sues Ohio's director of health

COLUMBUS

Planned Parenthood sued Ohio’s health director today in a dispute over how the organization’s affiliates handle the disposal of fetal tissue in the state.

The organization is accusing the state’s health department of changing the interpretation of a fetal tissue disposal rule without notice and then unfairly targeting Planned Parenthood, violating its due process and equal protection rights.

The federal lawsuit filed in Columbus follows an investigation by the state’s attorney general into the organization’s three facilities in Ohio that provide abortions.

Attorney General Mike DeWine announced the probe 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 has said some fetal tissue is donated for medical research. Such donations are illegal in Ohio, and a Planned Parenthood state leader has said no donation program exists here.

DeWine’s office found no evidence that the group made money from aborted fetuses, but the report instead criticized Planned Parenthood facilities for disposing of fetal remains in landfills.