The lone abortion facility in Toledo, Ohio has announced that it will no longer commit surgical abortions. The move comes after a lengthy legal battle and a change of ownership at the facility, Capital Care Center (formally known as Capital Care Network).
According to The Toledo Blade, the Ohio Department of Health confirmed that Capital Care’s director surrendered the facility’s surgical license effective September 10. The ODH made an inspection to verify that the facility is no longer committing surgical abortions.
Capital Care Network (via toledoblade.com)
The facility’s legal fight to commit surgical abortions dates back to 2013 when the University of Toledo Medical Center decided not to renew the facility’s agreement for the transfer of Capital Care patients in distress. State laws were later passed which prohibited publically-funded hospitals from entering into such agreements with abortion facilities.
In 2014, Capital Care entered into an agreement with the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor. The Ohio Department of Health then revoked Capital Care’s license, ruling that the agreement with UMHS violated the state’s 30-minute transfer time standard. According to The Toledo Blade, surgical abortions eventually resumed in May 21018 after Capital Care entered into an agreement with the city’s ProMedica Hospital. When the organization changed leadership in July, Capital Care could no longer use its pre-existing surgical license. It is unknown if it will work to renew that license in the future.
A 2017 report from the Ohio Department of Health indicates that 62 percent of all abortions in Lucas County (Toledo’s home county) were surgical abortions. The surrender of Capital Care’s surgical license will likely have a positive impact on lowering abortions in the state.
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Ohio Right to Life vice-president Stephanie Ranade Krider spoke of the positive impact in a press release:
Ohio Right to Life welcomes this news today. After years of legal trouble with proper licensure and inadequate safeguards, this is a victory for not only the pro-life movement, but for the women of Ohio. This clinic has acted in a reckless and above the law manner, putting women’s health and safety at risk for years. Two years ago, this same facility perforated a woman’s bowel before shuttling her in an employee’s vehicle to a nearby hospital.
While this facility will undoubtedly continue to profit off of women seeking chemical abortions, with over 1,300 abortions in Lucas County in 2017, the loss of their surgical license will save many lives.
Capital Care will continue to commit chemical abortions, while six other facilities in the state commit surgical abortions.
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