Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio is suing the Ohio Department of Health, saying the state agency is unnecessarily delaying processing paperwork for a Dayton-area abortion clinic.
Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region President and CEO Nan Whaley said the organization purchased the Women’s Med Center in Dayton a year and a half ago and filed change-of-ownership documents with the Ohio Department of Health. But she said ODH has not processed those. So the reproductive health and abortion provider has filed a lawsuit in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, asking it to compel the agency to issue the paperwork and to hold ODH in contempt of court.
“We basically want the Ohio Department of Health to do their job," Whaley said in an interview.
Whaley said the delay in getting the paperwork has forced her organization to rely on former owner Dr. Martin Haskell to maintain his license to keep the center operating.
"He’s been awesome and been really kind to us but he deserves the right to retire and we need to move forward," Whaley said.
The Ohio Department of Health said it cannot comment on the legal matter. Majority Republicans who control all three branches of state government oppose abortion and lawmakers have proposed several bills to try to limit it. But Whaley said the reproductive rights amendment passed by voters in 2023 makes it clear that the state cannot stand in the way when it comes to abortion.
“Abortion is a right in Ohio and the state has no business discriminating against abortion providers and standing in the way of that. And that is what they are doing,” Whaley said.
The filing is the latest update in ongoing litigation between Planned Parenthood and the Ohio Department of Health. A lawsuit was filed in 2024 challenging the ban on prescribing abortion medication via telehealth.
Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio also sued in 2016 over a law that banned them from receiving federal funds for education and prevention programs.
The Ohio Department of Health declined to comment on the situation, saying it is a pending legal matter. The Republican-dominated legislature has not removed any abortion restrictions passed before the 2023 amendment from the books. And lawmakers have introduced legislation that would likely lead to legal challenges over the power of the new amendment if it passes, including a bill that would completely abolish abortion by establishing "personhood" from the moment of fertilization. There is only one Democrat now on the Ohio Supreme Court, and the Republicans who dominate it now have been endorsed by anti-abortion organizations.
