Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said Friday his agency has found that aborted fetal tissue from three Planned Parenthood clinics in Ohio are being disposed of in landfills in a way that violates state law.
DeWine was investigating the women’s health and abortion provider over questions about whether it broke the law by profiting from providing fetal body parts for medical research. DeWine said that while he didn’t find that Planned Parenthood was selling tissue, he did find that medical waste companies it contracts with improperly disposed of aborted fetal remains.
“In the course of our investigation, we learned that aborted fetuses are ultimately disposed of in landfill sites — apparently intermingled with other common residential and commercial trash,” DeWine wrote to Ohio Health Director Richard Hodges.
DeWine pointed to a state code specifying that a fetus shall be disposed of in a “humane manner.” “I believe that disposing of the remains from an abortion by sending them to a landfill violates this rule,” he wrote.
Stephanie Kight, president of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, called DeWine’s report “flat-out false.”
“Planned Parenthood handles medical tissue like any other quality health care provider,” she said. “Our agreements with vendors all require them to follow state law and dispose of tissue accordingly. If they are not, then I will take swift action.”
Ohio is one of several Republican-led states that have investigated Planned Parenthood in the wake of undercover videos showing how some of its clinics were compenated for providing aborted fetal tissue to human tissue companies. While reimbursement for the overhead costs of supplying tissue is legal, profiting from its sale isn’t.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, called DeWine’s findings “disturbing” and said he has directed the Ohio health department to work with DeWine “to take appropriate legal action.”
“This investigation shows the need for further work with the Ohio General Assembly to rein in Planned Parenthood, while continuing to ensure access to vital health care services for women,” Kasich said.
Kasich ranks eighth in the Washington Examiner’s presidential power rankings.
