Chrissie Thompson

cthompson@enquirer.com

The Planned Parenthood clinic in Mount Auburn – Cincinnati's last abortion provider – will remain open and plans to drop its lawsuit against the state after the health department granted it an exception to a state law.

The Elizabeth Campbell Surgical Center lacks a patient-transfer agreement with a private hospital, a requirement for all Ohio abortion clinics passed into law last year by Statehouse Republicans. Ohio's Department of Health last month cited the Planned Parenthood center for its lack of compliance, saying it could revoke the clinic's license. That possibility threatened to make the 2.1 million-person Cincinnati region the largest metro area in the U.S. without an abortion clinic, according to an Enquirer analysis.

But that threat passed Thursday when the health department's director, Richard Hodges, granted Planned Parenthood an exception to the law about inking formal agreements for transferring patients in an emergency. Planned Parenthood instead has lined up four doctors who have agreed to accept and care for patients at local hospitals in an emergency.

Under Ohio law, Hodges has the authority to accept such an emergency plan, called granting a "variance." But the health department recently declined to do so for a Sharonville abortion provider called Women's Med, which halted abortions in September after a court battle. Fearing a similar fate, Planned Parenthood last week filed suit in federal court to challenge the state law, but said Thursday in a statement it now plans to drop the suit.

"This ruling will ensure that women in Southwest Ohio continue to have access to safe and legal abortion," said Jerry Lawson, CEO of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio, in a statement.

In his letter granting the exception, Hodges reminded the clinic Ohio law gives him the authority to rescind the exception at any time and for any reason.

In the past two years, Ohio's abortion clinics have seen their numbers dwindle from 14 to 8, in part due to new abortion restrictions passed last year by the Republican-dominated Legislature.

One new law bans abortion clinics from forming their required patient-transfer agreements with public hospitals. Supporters of the new law say they don't want taxpayer-funded hospitals to enable abortions through the agreements.

But none of the private hospitals in Cincinnati would enter into agreements with Planned Parenthood, many for religious reasons, the clinic had said.

"It's unfortunate that the Department of Health is allowing an abortion facility to remain open when no other health care provider in the Greater Cincinnati area chooses to do business with them," said Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, in a statement. "Granting a variance to circumvent state law is no way to ensure that women will be protected."

The health department, part of Republican Gov. John Kasich's administration, had taken more than a year to reply to Planned Parenthood's request for an exception.

Paula Westwood, executive director of Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati, said the health department granted the request to avoid a lawsuit.

The health department evaluates each request for an exception "on a case by case basis," said Melanie Amato, health department spokeswoman, in an email. "This variance request has been granted because it meets the legal requirements and medical expectations for patient health and safety."

A second Women's Med clinic in Dayton also lacks hospital transfer agreements and is seeking an exception from the Ohio Department of Health. The Dayton clinic also has yet to receive a response from the health department. Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, on Thursday called on the health department to grant the exception for the Dayton clinic.