Ohio taxpayers will pay Planned Parenthood's $45,447 legal bill to settle a lawsuit stemming from Attorney General Mike DeWine's explosive accusations that three of its clinics were improperly disposing of fetal remains in landfills. Planned Parenthood and state officials agreed last week to dismiss the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus after the settlement was reached. District Court Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. will retain jurisdiction over the matter for two years to ensure the agreement is enforced.

Ohio taxpayers will pay Planned Parenthood�s $45,447 legal bill to settle a lawsuit stemming from Attorney General Mike DeWine�s explosive accusations that three of its clinics were improperly disposing of fetal remains in landfills.

Planned Parenthood and state officials agreed last week to dismiss the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus after the state said it would pick up the tab and not enforce a law that Planned Parenthood argued was unconstitutionally vague.

U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. will retain jurisdiction over the matter for two years to ensure the agreement is enforced.

�It�s always a benefit to understand what the law is before you are told you are not in compliance,� said Jennifer L. Branch, a Cincinnati attorney representing Planned Parenthood.

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DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said the attorney general, who previously dropped a threat of legal action against Planned Parenthood, supports efforts by the General Assembly to clarify Ohio law on the disposal of fetal remains. The issue, however, remained unresolved last week when lawmakers recessed until mid-November. One of three bills introduced to require that fetal remains be buried or cremated passed the Senate but not the House.

Tierney referred questions about the payment of legal fees to the Ohio Department of Health, which was named as a defendant in the lawsuit, but Health Department officials declined comment and referred questions to the attorney general.

Planned Parenthood filed suit in December after DeWine asserted at a news conference that aborted fetuses at clinics in Columbus, Cincinnati and suburban Cleveland were � steam-cooked and taken to a Kentucky landfill� in violation of state law.

Planned Parenthood denied doing anything illegal and accused DeWine of launching a witch hunt after his five-month investigation uncovered no evidence that the organization was selling body parts as alleged in undercover videos released last summer by abortion opponents.

The Ohio Department of Health, which conducts annual inspections of abortion providers, had not cited a Planned Parenthood clinic or any other current abortion provider for improper disposal of fetal remains in five years. Current law states fetal remains simply be disposed of in a �humane manner.�

Under the terms of the settlement, neither Planned Parenthood nor state officials admitted any wrongdoing. The state must pay legal fees within 60 days.

In another lawsuit Planned Parenthood filed against the state, U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett of Cincinnati extended until Aug. 5 a temporary restraining order blocking the state from stripping $1.5 million in public funding from Planned Parenthood clinics. A hearing on the matter was set for Aug. 2. The current order was set to expire next week.

Planned Parenthood filed suit after Ohio lawmakers earlier this year passed legislation defunding its clinics, arguing the move would deprive women of non-abortion care, including breast and cervical cancer screenings and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. Planned Parenthood, which offers abortion services at three of its 28 clinics in Ohio, has received public funding for more than 20 years.

�Our government should be supporting programs that serve to improve the health and safety of our communities, not using Ohioans as political pawns. We want the people of Ohio to know one thing: Our doors are staying open, no matter what,� Iris E. Harvey, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, said in a statement Wednesday.

Ohio Right to Life, which sought passage of the legislation, slammed Barrett�s decision.

�Despite the will of Ohio voters, an un-elected judge just halted our democratically enacted, constitutional law by another two months, endangering the conscience rights of pro-life taxpayers. The conscience rights of all Ohioans, including pro-life Ohioans, stand above the whims of any judge,� Right to Life spokeswoman Katie Franklin said in a statement.

ccandisky@dispatch.com

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