Ohio AG Cracks Down on Abortion Providers Defying Orders to Preserve Protective Health Gear

The Ohio Attorney General’s office issued cease and desist orders to a Cleveland abortion clinic that had continued to perform abortions despite an order from the Department of Health (ODH) to stop.

On Friday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sent a letter to two other Ohio abortion clinics to order them to end all essential and elective surgeries, including abortions, that involve Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health workers.

“You and your facility are ordered to immediately stop performing non-essential and elective surgical abortions. Non-essential surgical abortions are those that can be delayed without undue risk to the current or future health of a patient,” Yost wrote in the letter, which was shared with CBS News.

The move came after ODH ordered on Wednesday for all “non-essential and elective surgeries” be suspended to preserve protective gear for health care workers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

But Preterm, a Cleveland abortion clinic, confirmed to the Daily Caller that they were not complying with the order, and would offer “the full range of abortion care services because it is essential healthcare.”

“In compliance with the order from the Ohio Department of Health, our physicians will be making individualized determinations to ensure each person gets the healthcare they need and that all healthcare providers across the state have access to the supplies needed during this pandemic,” Preterm Executive Director Chrisse France said.

ODH then told the Daily Caller that Yost’s office would be moving to end Preterm’s operation.

“When ODH is made aware of allegations that medical facilities are not being complied with ODH’s order, ODH is asking the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to issue cease and desist orders,” press secretary Melanie Amato said. “These orders have started going out.”

Ohio is currently defending a case over its abortion ban based on a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome, with the American Civil Liberties Union filing a lawsuit challenging the law on behalf of abortion giant Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

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