Ohio’s top court rejects Kettering clinic’s appeal, surgical abortions halted

The Ohio Supreme Court has denied an appeal from Kettering’s Women’s Med Center, upholding lower court rulings that required the center to get a transfer agreement for its patients to go to a nearby hospital.

The ruling means the clinic must immediately stop all surgical abortions, according to the attorney for the clinic, who added that immediate federal appeals were filed.

Jennifer Branch represents Women’s Med in its fight against an order from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) that required the clinic to have a written patient transfer agreement in place. Branch has said the orders are political in nature, and not medically necessary because hospitals have to accept emergency patients.

MORE: Women’s Med Center appeals state court ruling

Without the transfer agreement, ODH has refused to renew the center’s ambulatory surgical facility license.

The appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court to reverse the decision was denied Tuesday morning, but Branch told the Dayton Daily News the battle will now move to the federal level.

“Minutes after the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled this morning, I filed an emergency motion in federal court seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) which would allow Women’s Med Center in Dayton to continue performing surgical abortions,” Branch said. “This was filed in the case that has been pending in federal court since 2015 (Planned Parenthood and WMCD v. Hodges). We raised constitutional issues in federal court that were not raised in the Supreme Court of Ohio.”

MORE: Attorney General: Court should reject Kettering abortion clinic appeal

The Ohio Supreme Court’s decision Tuesday had an immediate affect on the abortion clinic’s day-to-day operations.

“Until the federal court rules on the emergency relief we have requested, all surgical abortions will be postponed, however, medical abortions will proceed as scheduled,” Branch said. “We hope to get a decision from the federal court today or tomorrow.”

Medical abortion involves a two-phase prescription that has to be administered by a medical provider.

Dayton Right to Life Executive Director Margie Christie said Tuesday the organization applauds the Ohio Supreme Court decision.

“Since 2016, this facility has tied up our court system and spent thousands of state tax dollars trying to undermine the work of the Ohio Department of Health in enforcing its regulations,” Christie said. “The laws regarding ambulatory surgical facilities were put in place by the legislature to protect the citizens of Ohio. Women’s Med Center should be as concerned about the health and safety of their clients as the Ohio Department of Health.”

State Rep. Niraj Antani, R-Miamisburg, welcomed the decision.

“The decision by the Supreme Court once again shows that the law is constitutional, and Women’s Med Center is in violation of the law,” he said. “Now that they’ve had their due process, this abortion clinic must have their license revoked and must be shut down, so that countless of unborn lives can be saved.”

NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Deputy Director Jaime Miracle said there might be a legal precedent that allows the clinic to stay open.

“In the court’s ruling in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the justices were clear that restrictions like the ones attempting to close the Dayton clinic are unconstitutional, undue burdens on patients seeking abortion,” Miracle said. “We hope that the federal court will act swiftly in granting this temporary restraining order to keep the clinic open.”

She added, “Ohioans in the Miami Valley should not be forced to watch each move of the courts to know if the abortion clinic they trust will be able to stay open. All of these court battles would be unnecessary if one Dayton hospital would step up to support people who need abortion access.”

The Dayton City Commission voted 4-1 in May to approve a nonbinding resolution that asked Premier Health and Kettering Health Network to sign a transfer agreement with Women’s Med Center.

Commissioner Matt Joseph voted against the resolution, saying he is pro-life and did not agree with the resolution’s language.

The city’s resolution says the state’s requirement for a transfer agreement with a local hospital is medically unnecessary and simply is an attempt to force abortion clinics to close.

Women's Med Center is one of nine abortion clinics in Ohio and one of the six clinics that offer surgical abortion care.

MORE: Dayton abortion protest follows heated state, national debate

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