Planned Parenthood sues Ohio

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Planned Parenthood sued Ohio’s health director Sunday 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.

DeWine told reporters Friday the disposal practice is callous and violates state rules requiring that fetuses be disposed of in a humane manner. He plans to seek an injunction today to prevent Planned Parenthood from disposing of fetal remains in landfills.

Planned Parenthood called the purported wrongdoing “inflammatory.” The organization said it follows Ohio law and uses the same practices as hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities, which generally contract with outside companies to dispose of all medical waste.

Stephanie Kight, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, said the disposal process is handled safely and respectfully. She said Sunday the tissue is processed and sent to a solid-waste facility that’s specifically licensed for medical material, not a typical landfill.

In its lawsuit, Planned Parenthood said it’s always abided by the directive that fetal tissue be disposed in a “humane” manner and never has been cited by the Ohio Department of Health, which licenses abortion facilities in Ohio, for violating those regulations.

Attorneys for Planned Parenthood accused the state’s health director, Richard Hodges, of abandoning his standard process of providing notice of purported non-compliance and providing an opportunity to correct such issues.