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Ohio AG: Planned Parenthood aborted fetuses end up in landfills

by Peter Sullivan - 12/11/15 2:25 PM ET

Aborted fetuses from Planned Parenthood clinics in Ohio are ending up being disposed of in landfills, according to an investigation from the state’s attorney general (AG).

The investigation, according to a Friday press release, concluded that the three Planned Parenthood affiliates in Ohio have sent fetal remains to companies that in turn disposed of them in landfills.

Attorney General Mike DeWine, a conservative Republican, said Planned Parenthood’s practices in the state violated Ohio Administrative Code, which requires that a “fetus shall be disposed of in a humane manner.”

{mosads}His office referred the matter to the state Department of Health.

In a statement on its Facebook page, Planned Parenthood’s branch in the state rejected the findings.

“This is simply not true,” the statement said. “Planned Parenthood has contracts with vendors to handle fetal tissue in a respectful manner and in accordance with the law. It is irresponsible for the AG to say otherwise.”

In a call with reporters on Friday, Ohio Planned Parenthood president Stephanie Kight was asked if fetal remains end up in landfills. She said fetal remains are “handled properly at Planned Parenthood,” but referred questions about what happens after that to the disposal company.

“You’re really asking a question for the disposal company,” she said.

Asked where Planned Parenthood thought the fetal remains ended up, if not landfills, Kight responded, “The Ohio attorney general hasn’t said that any law has been broken. What he seems to be upset about is what the law allows.”

She said that the new allegations are trying to bury the fact that the investigation found no evidence to support the original allegation that Planned Parenthood sells fetal tissue.

She said it is “highly motivated by a political agenda that both the governor and attorney general are pushing right now in Ohio.”

In a follow-up call with The Hill, Kight emphasized that the remains end up in a facility that is specially licensed to receive medical material, as prescribed by Ohio law.

She said it is the same way medical material from other healthcare providers is disposed of. “Every healthcare provider follows these laws, every surgery center, every hospital,” she said.

According to cleveland.com, DeWine said in a press conference that the disposal system the state found does not violate Ohio law but does violate state administrative code, which states that a “fetus shall be disposed of in a humane manner.”

“I think it will come as a shock to Ohioans to find out that fetuses are being cooked and then they’re being put in a landfill and they’re going to be mixed in with yesterday’s garbage,” DeWine said.

DeWine said at the press conference that Planned Parenthood clinics gave the remains to a company called Accu Medical Waste, which “steam-cooked” them in a sterilizing pressure chamber before sending them to a landfill.

The findings come as the debate over Planned Parenthood has calmed down in Congress. Republicans have not been pushing to defund the group in the spending bill that must be passed by Wednesday, in contrast to the fierce debate earlier this fall.

That debate was sparked by a series of undercover videos claiming that Planned Parenthood sold fetal tissue for profit.

Since then, several state investigations have found no wrongdoing or sales of fetal tissue by Planned Parenthood.

The Ohio investigation was launched in the wake of the videos as well, and the attorney general’s office also said Friday that it had found no evidence that Planned Parenthood sold fetal tissue.

John Kasich, the state’s governor and a Republican presidential candidate, said in a statement the findings are “disturbing.”

“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.

– Updated at 6:30 p.m.