COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The Latest on Ohio Supreme Court rulings on abortion clinics (all times local):
6:45 p.m.
An abortion-rights group says an Ohio Supreme Court ruling upholding a state order to shutter the last abortion clinic in northwest Ohio punishes women for deciding to end their pregnancies.
NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Executive Director Kellie Copeland said in a statement Tuesday she is “gravely concerned” about the impact the ruling will have on women in that part of the state. She says the decision against Capital Care of Toledo pushes abortion out of reach for them.
The court on Tuesday upheld the order to shutter Capital Care of Toledo. A message was left for Capital Care’s attorney.
The court also ruled the Preterm of Cleveland abortion clinic lacks legal standing to sue over abortion-related restrictions put in Ohio’s 2013 budget bill. An attorney for Preterm says women across Ohio will suffer.
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3:10 p.m.
An attorney says it’s disappointing that a state Supreme Court decision found that a northeast Ohio abortion clinic lacks legal standing to sue over some restrictions.
Attorney Jessie Hill said Tuesday that the decision makes it a “sad day for government transparency and accountability” and that women across Ohio will suffer. The court found Preterm of Cleveland lacks legal standing to sue over abortion-related restrictions that Hill says were put into the state’s 2013 budget bill without public comment.
Hill says the case involved a state constitutional question and can’t be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The court on Tuesday also upheld a state order shuttering Capital Care of Toledo. A message was left for that clinic’s attorney.
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1:10 p.m.
Ohio Supreme Court rulings finding against abortion clinics in Toledo and Cleveland have drawn praise from an anti-abortion organization.
Justices found Tuesday that the Ohio Department of Health acted within its rights in 2014 when it decided to shut down Capital Care of Toledo. Justices also ruled that Preterm of Cleveland lacks legal standing to sue over abortion-related restrictions in the state’s 2013 budget bill.
Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, said in a statement Tuesday that the court “got it right.” He called the rulings affirmation that “abortion should not be advanced at the expense of women’s health and safety.”
Messages were left for attorneys representing the clinics.
The rulings come as Ohio has seen clinic closures across the state and a decline in abortion procedures.
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10:20 a.m.
The Ohio Supreme Court has delivered a pair of blows to abortion clinics in Toledo and Cleveland.
Justices on Tuesday ruled Preterm of Cleveland lacks the legal standing to sue over abortion-related restrictions tucked into the state’s 2013 budget bill.
The high court also upheld a license revocation aimed at shuttering Toledo’s last abortion clinic.
Preterm of Cleveland had argued budget provisions imposed added administrative and caseload burdens on its operations that clearly qualified the clinic to proceed with litigation.
Justices said Preterm didn’t demonstrate true or threatened harm from the regulatory changes.
Separately, they ruled 5-2 that the Ohio Department of Health acted within its rights in 2014 when it decided to shut down Capital Care of Toledo.
New restrictions and falling abortion rates have prompted clinic closures statewide.
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10 a.m.
The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld a state order shuttering Toledo’s last abortion clinic in a decision the facility is expected to appeal.
Justices ruled 5-2 Tuesday that the Ohio Department of Health acted within its rights in 2014 when it decided to shut down Capital Care of Toledo. Justices say the clinic violated a requirement because it no longer had a patient-transfer agreement with a local hospital.
Restrictions passed by Ohio lawmakers in 2013 mandated that those long-required transfer agreements be with local hospitals, and also barred public hospitals from providing them. The University of Toledo Hospital ended its transfer arrangement with Capital Care about two months before the law was enacted.
Lower courts ruled the restrictions unconstitutional and allowed the clinic to continue operating while the lawsuit proceeded.
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9:50 a.m. The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld a state order shuttering Toledo’s last abortion clinic in a decision the facility is expected to appeal.
Justices ruled 5-2 Tuesday that the Ohio Department of Health acted within its rights in 2014 when it decided to shut down Capital Care of Toledo. Justices say the clinic violated a requirement because it no longer had a patient-transfer agreement with a local hospital.
Restrictions passed by Ohio lawmakers in 2013 mandated that those long-required transfer agreements be with local hospitals and also barred public hospitals from providing them. The University of Toledo Hospital ended its transfer arrangement with Capital Care about two months before the law was enacted.
Lower courts ruled the restrictions unconstitutional and allowed the clinic to continue operating while the lawsuit proceeded.
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