Planned Parenthood is still putting out fires from the discredited video that circulated last year, accusing the organization of selling fetal tissue. In December, Attorney General Mike DeWine filed an injunction against Ohio’s three facilities for what he considered misuse and mistreatment of fetal remains.
“He threatened us to go to court to stop us from giving care and handling tissue the way we did,” Stephanie Kight, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio (PPGOH) CEO, said. “That threat made such a big mess that our vendor dropped us like a hot potato.”
The company contracted to handled the fetal remains bailed after the legal dispute began, but PPGOH was able to secure another. For security reasons, the companies’ names could not be disclosed.
In response Planned Parenthood filed their own lawsuit, a temporary restraining order (TRO), to be able to keep their doors open throughout the litigation. After a federal judge granted the TRO, DeWine moved the issue from the courts to the legislature.
Two bills will be discussed when the Ohio legislature is back in session. One of the bills would decide how fetal remains are handled after an abortion.
“Right now we treat the fetal tissue in accordance with all Ohio state laws, and in a respectful manner,” Kight said. “That’s always been the case, and that hasn’t changed.”
The new bill would mandate that women having an abortion either choose cremation or burial for the remains, said Jocelyn Smallwood, Spokesperson for Planned Parenthood. She said this legislation is coupled with false claims of Planned Parenthood dumping fetal remains in landfills.
“That’s absolutely a false characterization of what’s going on,” she said. “If you’re concerned about the way this tissue is being handled, then why is it only Planned Parenthood that’s under the gun right now? Why is it not hospitals or other medical facilities? Why are they not also being included in this investigation?”
At a press conference a reporter asked DeWine if there is evidence suggesting Planned Parenthood was handling fetal remains differently from any other hospital.
“We did not investigate any hospital in the state of Ohio,” he said. “So I do not know the answer to that question.”
Since last year’s controversy around Planned Parenthood, Smallwood said the organization has been focused on promulgating the truth — about what services they provide, how those services are funded, and how fetal remains are handled after abortions and D&Cs.
“Funding, for example — the things that are being targeted are breast and cervical cancer screenings, HIV screenings, testing for STIs, sex education programs,” she said. “This is not really about abortion. I think our opponents want to make that the main issue and that’s just not accurate.”
Still, Kight made clear that the right to an abortion, and to comprehensive reproductive care, is one of the main goals of Planned Parenthood.
“It’s our intention that our doors will stay open to serve the women and men of Ohio who need honest, comprehensive reproductive healthcare,” she said. “We will be there both fighting for your healthcare and fighting for your rights in this new year. We’re pretty fiercely committed, so you can count on that.”