An Ohio abortion facility that used to abort viable, late-term unborn babies may close after a judge decided it violated a state health regulation Wednesday.
The Women’s Medical Center in Dayton is owned by late-term abortionist Martin Haskell. The facility stopped aborting viable, late-term unborn babies when Ohio passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which protects unborn babies from abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. However, the facility still aborts unborn babies up to that line.
On Wednesday, Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Wiseman upheld a 2016 Ohio Department of Health decision to revoke the abortion facility’s license, The Columbus Dispatch reports.
The department said the facility violated a state requirement that ambulatory surgical facilities have transfer agreements with a nearby hospital for patient emergencies. However, the abortion facility challenged the finding, and Wiseman temporarily blocked the license revocation until the case could be heard in court.
Wiseman’s ruling Wednesday means the state can now move forward with shutting down the Women’s Medical Center.
Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, said the ruling is a victory for women and children.
“This ruling is a win for the pro-life movement in Ohio and the women of Dayton,” he said. “Ohio Right to Life is encouraged to see a facility as notorious as Women’s Med Center finally shuttered.”
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Here’s more from the report:
Wiseman’s decision followed oral arguments in the case on Friday. The judge ordered that a stay issued in 2016 allowing the clinic to remain open while she heard the case expire in 30 days, the same period the clinic has in which to appeal the decision.
Officials with the Ohio Department of Health declined comment, citing the possibility of further litigation in the case.
Attorneys for the clinic did not return a message seeking comment.
The abortion facility has a long history of legal battles with the Ohio Department of Health, according to Ohio Right to Life. It applied for wavers to the transfer agreement requirement in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014, but all were denied.
The facility performs surgical abortions right up to the state 20-week abortion ban when unborn babies are nearly fully formed and close to the point of viability.
