A federal judge has temporarily blocked Ohio officials from taking legal action against Planned Parenthood to enforce fetal tissue disposal rules, rules which Planned Parenthood say that it has not violated. Republican lawmakers in the state have proposed new regulations for disposing of fetal tissue, but any state action on the issue is blocked until January.
The legal actions in Ohio follow the state Attorney General Mike DeWine's investigation into Planned Parenthood facilities. His office found no evidence that Planned Parenthood made money from aborted fetuses. Instead, the office issued a report that criticized because it said that fetal remains were disposed of in landfills. DeWine accused Planned Parenthood of violating state rules on disposal of fetal tissue. He said the remains had been sent to companies that disposed of them in landfills.
In answer, Planned Parenthood called DeWine's report "inflammatory" and said that the three facilities that provide abortions in Ohio follow the law and use the same practices that hospitals and other healthcare facilities use with medical waste. Planned Parenthood denied violating any state rules and said that DeWine had singled out the organization from all other healthcare providers, an action in violation of its right to due process and equal protection under the U.S. Constitution.
In its lawsuit, Planned Parenthood said it had never been cited by the Ohio Department of Health for violating disposal regulations.
Meanwhile, Republican state lawmakers proposed legislation on Monday to require Ohio hospitals, abortion clinics, and other providers to dispose of fetal remains by burial or cremation. The bill sponsors said they are trying to provide clarity as to the meaning of "humane" disposal.
Several states announced that they were investigating Planned Parenthood after anti-abortion activists released undercover videos purported to show the organization's personnel negotiating the sale of fetal organs. Planned Parenthood was cleared in each investigation that has been completed. The organization had a program in a few clinics where fetal tissue was donated for medical research, which is allowed under federal law, with reimbursement for handling the tissue.
