Planned Parenthood sues Ohio over claims of fetal tissue in landfills

Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio is suing state health officials over claims made public last week that the abortion provider has improperly disposed of fetal tissue, including in state landfills.

The Ohio Department of Health announced the claims at a press conference last week during which the state cleared Planned Parenthood of accusations made in undercover videos that it had illegally sold fetal tissue.

{mosads}At the same press conference, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said he would be filing an injunction against Planned Parenthood because he said he found evidence that the group had been illegally disposing of fetal remains in landfills.

Planned Parenthood calls the report false and “inflammatory,” and Stephanie Kight, the CEO of the regional Planned Parenthood center, has denied that it broke the law. The organization filed a federal lawsuit on Sunday to prevent the injunction from taking place.

In its lawsuit, the attorneys for Planned Parenthood wrote that DeWine — who is elected statewide — had “arbitrarily singled out” the organization.

“This sudden and targeted treatment is no doubt motivated by his animus to a woman’s right to safe and legal abortion and to Planned Parenthood in particular,” the lawsuit reads.

Kight has told reporters that Planned Parenthood follows the same procedures as other hospitals and medical companies, which generally send the tissue to a solid waste facility — not a landfill as the attorney general described — that handles medical material.

“The reality is that we handle medical tissue just like other health care providers do, and we always have,” Kight said in a statement. “We’re inspected regularly to ensure that we’re handling fetal tissue properly and legally.”

Republican state lawmakers in Ohio have seized on the attorney general’s report and plan to release new legislation targeting Planned Parenthood on Monday.