Two Planned Parenthood clinics to close in Ohio after funding cuts

Planned Parenthood on Monday announced that two of its clinics in Ohio will close later this month after losing state and federal funding.

The organization blamed the closures on politicians who moved to “defund” Planned Parenthood for performing abortions. Neither of the two clinics performed the procedure, Planned Parenthood said.

{mosads}“Cincinnati is the last place politicians should be forcing health centers to close,” said Kersha Deibel, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region.

“This is the world they want to see: one where women lose access to birth control, where information about how to access abortion is held hostage, and where, if you don’t have money, it’s almost impossible to access an STI test or a cancer screening.”

The two clinics will close their doors for good on Sept. 20; the five other clinics in that part of the state will remain open.

There are currently 26 Planned Parenthood clinics in Ohio.

Planned Parenthood gave up millions of dollars in federal funding last month after the Trump administration said the group would need to comply with a new rule banning it from referring women for abortions if it wanted to continue receiving government dollars.

Republican legislators in Ohio cut about $600,000 in state funding to Planned Parenthood this year after winning approval from a federal appeals court.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in March upheld a 2016 Ohio law banning preventive health funding from going to organizations that perform or promote abortions.

–Updated at 2:22 p.m.