To the stunning surprise and relief of many, Democrats and Republicans in the Ohio Senate recently came together in support of babies who survive abortion attempts. This show of unity comes in dramatic contrast to their federal counterparts.

State senators unanimously passed Senate Resolution 41, which urges Congress to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. This happened in the same hearing where the Heartbeat Bill was passed.

Democratic Senator Nickie Antonio said she does not take her vote on the issue lightly and described the issue as “troubling” because laws are already on the books that protect newborn babies.
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But this issue must be clearly understood. The Born-Alive Protection Act of 2002 was signed at the time by President George W. Bush. However, the current legislation in Congress is significantly different. One of the biggest changes is the earlier bill did not include penalties for medical professionals who allow babies who survive abortions to die from lack of medical care. The 2019 bill does and closes loopholes that allow abortion providers to put a screaming, crying, unwanted infant in a room alone to slowly pass away. The WONDER database from the Centers for Disease Control reveals that from 1999-2017, at least 592 babies perished after surviving abortions.
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Antonio acknowledged that “the minute that baby takes a breath, they are a citizen of the United States.”
She eventually grew visibly emotional as she continued to speak.

“When a baby is born, a baby is born. And we should do everything we can,” she said through tears.
Senate Resolution 41 was brought forward by Senate President Obhof and Republican Senator Matt Huffman. Democrats asked to caucus (meaning to meet privately) and then voted unanimously in support along with all Republicans.

We pray those in Congress see the unity within Ohio on this extremely important issue. 

To encourage Ohio's members of the US Senate to support the Infant Born Alive Act, you can contact Ohio's Senators at:

Senator Rob Portman (has voted to support the Act)

Senator Sherrod Brown (has voted against the Act)
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Note: Existing Ohio law (2919.17) generally requires that abortions performed or induced after the point of viability are done in a facility that has appropriate neonatal facilities to care for a premature infant and that any abortion or induction be done in a way that gives the child the best opportunity to survive. Failure to abide by this provision is a 4th degree felony in Ohio and grounds for loss of a medical license.

A few weeks ago, Greater Columbus Right to Life was the first to share the shocking news that Ohio’s first abortion provider had permanently relinquished his medical license. The reasons behind the relinquishment were not clear beyond some vaguely worded content in the action from the Ohio Medical Board document, indicating that he had surrendered his license in lieu of additional investigation into irregularly providing certain drugs to male patients. Subsequent public records requests to the Ohio Medical Board gained no additional clarity beyond the agenda for a quickly-called meeting and the outcome of a vote.

The next day, we were able to share that subsequent to the relinquishment of Mr. Blank’s license, the clinic he co-founded, which has been mired in scandal for years, closed in June of 2018, and reopened in November, had surrendered its license to perform surgical abortions. The clinic is currently open 4-5 days per week providing the abortion pill, and seems to be referring women who are later than ten weeks in pregnancy to clinics in Cleveland or Dayton for surgical procedures.

We’ve continued to pursue the truth of what is going on at this and other clinics as part of our community education program and we regularly maintain information on this and other clinics, but a few days after we exposed Ohio’s first abortion clinic, we learned that someone (or a group of people) really wants us to quit this work.

For the last month, someone has been using the name (or a version of the name), the email, and the phone number of our ED to apply for large numbers of “contact requests” from career and technical schools, multi-level marketing sales opportunities, jobs, “adult novelty” catalogs, non-mainstream religions, and more.  It resulted in a large number of phone calls, emails, and texts in an effort to disrupt our office activities. It appears that these folks really, really, really want us to be doing something different – anything different. It lead us to ask why it is that the response of abortion supporters, when confronted by the bad actions and bad actors of their industry, is to result to this kind of behavior rather than denounce the bad behavior of their cohort.  While it was a minor inconvenience to us, it was also a disrespectful waste of the time of the people who reached out to us in response to their false request – some of whom worked on commission or with pay based on success/fail rates – people who were just trying to do their jobs. Not surprising, more than a few of them were happy to share with us the information (like ISP address from the original contact) gathered when the form was submitted, information that we could provide to law enforcement. 

If anything, this activity has more firmly cemented our resolve to continue advocating for the unborn, the weak, and the infirm. We need to continue steadily proclaiming the dignity of the unborn while also peeling back the veil that enshrouds abortion as being good and necessary for the advancement of women.

So our resolution is that in 2019 we are not going to stop pressing forward in defense of human life, and we are going to continue from every angle we can.

But, we need a little help from you. Can you make a donation that is postmarked today or completed online tonight by midnight to help us end 2018 in a strong position? Or, can you make a donation in early 2019 to jump-start our efforts?  Can you resolve to volunteer to pray outside a clinic with us for just one shift a month, or help us to lead the 40 Days for Life efforts at your church? Would you like to bring the Memorial of the Unborn display to your church or school? Can you pray for our leaders and volunteers?  Because we can only be “all in” if you are!

Happy New Year, and may 2019 be blessed beyond measure. 

If you would like to financially support the work of Greater Columbus Right to Life, you can do so here.

2018 will be remembered for many things, but one of them will undoubtedly be the #MeToo movement. At its best, the movement has brought wrongdoings, especially against women and the vulnerable, into the light in a spirit that (unintentionally) echoes the Gospel, "So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known."

Have there been false or overblown accusations and reactions? Absolutely, but as noted by Augustine, "The truth is like a lion. You don't have to defend it. Let it loose. It will defend itself."

While the impacts of the movement have been visible at almost every level: from the halls of government, in our churches and schools, up and down the corporate ladder, and to the red carpets of Hollywood, there is one place that has been immune to accountability: the abortion industry. Aside from a few narrowly read publications tailored to the faith or pro-life movement and subscribers to watchdog groups like GCRTL, there is virtually no coverage of the bad actions and bad actors within the abortion industry. More tellingly, there has been no refutation of illegal actions and horrifically bad actors by the abortion industry itself. Rather, it has been radio silence. The hypocrisy is stunning.

Let me be clear: there are bad actors and bad actions in every field. But when a lone actor who is unaffiliated with any pro-life organization does something illegal (like this), every pro-life leader denounces the actions, reminds the community and volunteers of our standards, and shares our commitment to peaceful pro-life action. Nonetheless, the story is told far and wide in various media often with a narrative that blames the action on unrelated groups for creating cultural polarization. To be perfectly clear: the pro-life community should hold itself to the highest of standards because what we are standing for is the dignity of every human life. 

But what is astonishing is the silence of abortion industry leaders in the face of horrific actions. Their silence says everything. Anyone who truly cares about women's health should be the first to speak up against illegal actions and especially horrific actors in their business. Let's look at a handful of especially egregious or recent situations here in Ohio.

• When Thomas Michaelis, an abortion provider in Toledo and Columbus was indicted on child pornography in 2014, there was no statement from his employers that they would be reviewing records to ensure that he did not abuse any women or minors who received abortion or gynecological care from him. There was no statement from NARAL or NAF denouncing his actions. Limited media reports in Toledo identified him as an OBGYN, but did not mention his links to abortion or Capital Care Network
• When Dr. David Burkons' medical license was suspended by the Ohio Medical Board for providing controlled substances improperly: silence. Subsequently, he was permitted to open his own clinic. While the website does not mention if he is accredited by the National Abortion Federation, it does indicate that patient subsidies are available to his patients at that location.
• Just last month, when Harley Blank's medical license was permanently revoked for reasons vaguely described as improperly providing controlled substances to men, the story was briefly covered by one local news outlet, but did not include or appear to seek a comment from the clinic or state or national abortion advocacy groups. They made no statements from social media accounts or in official press releases. None.
• Just a few weeks ago, a story broke about a woman who called 911 from outside a Cleveland abortion clinic because she was severely hemorrhaging after an abortion. Reports indicate that she was asked to leave the clinic, despite bleeding through her clothing, because it was time for the clinic to close and staff wanted to go home. There does not seem to be any secular media coverage of the incident, nor does there appear to be any statements from Preterm or any of the abortion advocacy groups. Certainly laws such as HIPPAA would prevent Preterm from disclosing information regarding patient conditions, but there was not so much as an avowal to investigate by the facility or any state or national coalition (if we missed it; send it our way). 

The list could go on and on and on with examples. If pro-abortion organizations and individuals want to position themselves as champions of women and the underserved, they could start by having the courage to speak out against these kind of incidents. That they do not supports something pro-life advocates have been saying for years: these types of illegal and unethical behaviors are the industry norm in abortion, not isolated incidents. In the rare occasion that such grisly conditions are revealed (ahem, like in the Gosnell case), the public narrative is that it is actually the fault of pro-life organizations that Gosnell happened, because they advocate for regulations of the industry. It is crazy.

So, if the industry is not going to clean itself up, and if the mainstream media is not going to hold them accountable, and if state agencies either lack the political will or are immobilized by state regulations and laws that tie actions up in red tape and litigation, who is holding the abortion industry accountable?

We are. 

You might wonder why Greater Columbus Right to Life would send out a piece like this just a few days before Christmas. We are doing it, as we do everything - because someone has to do it. However, if we are to continue to succeed, we need your help. We are currently working very hard on a campaign to recruit volunteers who can join our ministry. We are also - like many other groups - trying to make our year-end fundraising needs so that we can focus on our next project (and it is going to be a big one). If everyone who reads our emails regularly were to donate just $50, we would meet our year-end needs in a day and if everyone in central Ohio who plans to attend the March for Life or the Roe Remembrance were to pray with us just once a month, we would line the sidewalks of every abortion clinic in Columbus and change lives forever. 

On November 14th, the Ohio Medical Board finalized the revocation/permanent surrender of Dr. Harley Blank’s license to practice medicine.  He signed a consent decree for the permanent revocation of his medical license on October 25, 2018.

We do not yet have confirmation of why Mr. Blank’s medical license was revoked, but there is no doubt that a large part of the reason has been the extensive work done by Greater Columbus Right to Life staff and volunteers for the past five years to uncover the true conditions of the clinic, refer injured patients to legal counsel and state regulators. We have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to make this a reality, and it is paying off.

We have known for a considerable amount of time that Founder’s is not a safe place for women or their unborn children, and we have observed increasingly erratic behavior on the part of Dr. Blank, who joins another Founder’s abortion provider – who is currently serving time in federal prison for child pornography – as having his medical license permanently revoked.

We have requested supporting documentation for this situation from applicable entities, and we have reason to believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

You can read a copy of the Medical Board revocation here. You can check for updated information and documents on this page, as we locate them. You can support our work here.

Please consider donating today in support of the work that we do. We operate on a very small budget, and last Friday announced a year-end campaign to raise $30,000 to continue our work. So far, we are about ten percent of the way to that goal. Your donation of any size will help us to make that a reality. 

Finally, please consider remembering Mr. Blank and all abortion providers in your prayers. Decades of work in the abortion industry carries a heavy burden to their souls, and our greatest wish is not just that their deeds are uncovered and they face civil justice for what they have done, but that they experience a true conversion of heart and choose life and life eternal. 

Over the past two weeks, more than 300 in central Ohio have come together to watch the #GosnellMovie at events sponsored or cosponsored by Greater Columbus Right to Life. Hundreds more in the local community have gone (or will go) to other showings in the area. In fact, a full list of the theaters showing the movie can be seen online. If you have not seen the movie, we strongly encourage that you go see it. Here is what a few locals had to say after watching the movie at our sneak-peek in September. 

But one thing I want to make exceedingly clear, do not think that a Gosnell-type situation could not happen here in central Ohio. Because, even though Ohio reportedly has some of the strictest abortion regulations in the state, failure to meet the standards set by the laws is often met with inaction, excessively long legal practices, and penalties that are abandoned or reduced so as not to have any practical ramifications.  Don't believe us? This is a document we put together several weeks ago, citing actual examples from clinic inspection reports. 

But last week, something happened that was almost unbelievable and it shows just how desperately we need for groups like Greater Columbus Right to Life and other local organizations to continue serving in education, advocacy, and watchdog positions. Because what happened in Ohio last week is, quite frankly, unbelievable.

Warning - Gosnell Film Spoiler Alerts follow. 

One of the shocking takeaways from the film is how the abuses at the Gosnell facility were able to continue because of political decisions and media coverage that tends toward protecting anything termed as "reproductive rights." And as a pro-life organization, we have been frustrated by local media who have refused to cover atrocities like filthy clinics hiring known sex offenders and then not reporting when that sex offender was arrested and indicted for child pornography. Think we might be exaggerating? Check the Toledo coverage of the indictment, and there was zero Columbus coverage, even though Mr. Michaelis was frequently working at Founder's. 

You might have read out previous coverage of the fine that Capital Care Network of Toledo received from the Ohio Department of Health. The fine was charged after a patient's abortion was halted because the doctor thought he might have perforated her bowel. This is a very dangerous medical emergency. Rather than call for an ambulance, a non-medical staffer of the clinic drove the woman to the hospital and dropped her off at the emergency room. Here is our coverage of the situation, which was appealed by the clinic. It took nearly a year for the appeal to get a hearing, which it did last June. The defenses of the clinic were laughable, including that a) since the patient's bowel was not actually perforated, there wasn't really an emergency so there should be no fine, and b) that the clinic has not been making a profit for many years and this fine will put them out of business. This past Friday, a hearing officer made a recommendation to the Ohio Department of Health to reduce the fine to $3,000. 

Here are a few things to consider from the actual case.
- First, the clinic was notified in a letter on August 21 that it had ten days to respond to fix the deficiencies and 30 days to request an appeal. It responded with the deficiencies and requested an appeal on September 8th, 2017. They did not even bother to follow the proscribed timeline to correct their deficiencies. This is typical of the clinics that have been run under the same management - no response, late response, etc. 
- Second, the clinic is owned and operated in part by a woman who has been operating various abortion clinics in Ohio and Indiana under different names and DBAs for almost a decade the track record is NOT good. A few of them.

• Currently being sued by her former business partners at Founder's. The allegations in the lawsuit are very serious and include not only theft of assets, failure to abide by her contract, and fraud, but also things like removing controlled substances from the facility.
• Owes about a million dollars in back taxes, fines, and fees to various levels of local, state, and federal government.
• One clinic (Capital Care of Cuyahoga Falls) that she operated was closed after state inspectors and the DEA closed the facility for numerous infractions that included stealing patient blood, allowing controlled substances to be distributed without proper prescriptions or patient files, and more.
• The owner has recently opened up a new abortion-pill-only clinic in Columbus under a new name.

The list goes on and on, and this is just one series of clinics operated predominantly by one person. It doesn't talk about facilities in Dayton that have been ordered to close numerous times. It doesn't talk about the radical increase in complications from the abortion pill. It doesn't talk about the Planned Parenthood offices that have been cited for improperly performing abortions on minor girls without proper consents. You can read all about the failed inspections, filthy facilities, and more at www.thisclinichurtswomen.com. 

So what can we do? Well, the first thing we would encourage you to do is to contact the Ohio Department of Health and let them know that it is not appropriate to let someone with Terrie Hubbard's track record off with a minor fine. By reducing this fine the ODH will be signaling that women who enter these facilities they are setting up a do not consider women's health to be 13 times less important for similar violations against the general public!  Contact information:  Director Lance Himes: Director@odh.ohio.gov or call (614) 466-2253.

The Second thing you can do is to consider joining our team, which serves as a watchdog at local clinics and can help to make sure that when things go wrong, someone knows. You can do this by either volunteering with us or making a donation. 

About 160 gathered on Tuesday, September 25th for a special sneak-peek of the Gosnell Movie sponsored by Greater Columbus Right to Life and Citizens for Community Values. In addition to getting the opportunity to see the movie before its October 12th nationwide opening, attendees were able to hear from film producer Ann McElhinney.

The movie shares exactly how the story of Gosnell’s now infamous abortion clinic was raided by police, the FBI, and the DEA on suspicions of running a narcotic pill mill. Once inside, investigators were shocked at what they found – a filthy mess of human and animal excrement, dirty equipment, and fetal remains facilitated by years of disregard by Pennsylvania state inspectors. It predominantly follows the investigation by a local (catholic) narcotics cop and a prosecutor portrayed as a pro-choice, up-and-coming on the political scene, mother of five through the investigation and trial of Kermit Gosnell.

The movie, while not graphic in the sense that one might expect, did not shy away of showing the horror of what investigators experienced. Rather than relying on portraying images of the youngest victims, the movie successfully used the actors’ emotions to relay the serious heartbreak of the situation.  The result resonated with the crowd. 

Producer Ann McElhiney shared that while she had started looking at the story as a reporter and writer, she herself had a change of heart on abortion while producing the screenplay and the movie. “I was always, well, let’s say neutral on the subject of abortion, which basically meant that I was in favor of it. But after writing the book and directing the film, I had a personal change of heart.”

If you missed the sneak-peek preview, it is not too late. Gosnell: The Story of America’s Biggest Serial Killer will open in theaters across the nation on October 12th. You can find a local theater by visiting www.gosnellmovie.com. If there is not a local theater playing the movie, please consider calling your local chain theater and requesting that it open in your community. Although the movie is a factual portrayal of the investigation and trial of Gosnell, it is running into difficulties with distribution and finding theaters willing to show the film. We have already seen stories – NPR refusing to advertise the film if it referred to ‘abortion’ at all, a showing in Texas being cancelled at the demand of Planned Parenthood, and similar sorts of discrimination. We have been told that there is a national attempt to keep this out of theaters, because those with a pro-abortion agenda know that if this movie is picked up by 600 theaters nationwide by October it will also run on Netflix – where millions of people around the world will hear about the story and start to speak up. 

For this reason, we are encouraging every single GCRTL supporter to contact their local theater (especially AMC, Cinemark, Regal, and other large national chains) and ask them to show the Gosnell Movie. Then, you need to follow through by going to watch it. Trust us - you will not regret it! 

This year’s report shows a concerning increase in the number of abortions performed, both as a state and locally. In all, the number of abortions statewide increased from 20,672 abortions in 2016 to 20,893 abortions in 2017. The net increase was split with about 1/3 of the increase in abortions coming from women living inside the state of Ohio and about 2/3 from women with a permanent residence outside of the state. It is not possible to tell from the statistics if those are women who are in Ohio temporarily (like college students) or those who are traveling here to seek an abortion.

Statewide, the most dramatic number of abortions continue to occur on babies at 9 weeks gestation or less – more than 50%. Other gestation ranges each saw a modest decline, with about a 10% reduction (from 508 to 454) in abortions on babies who had reached 19 weeks or greater gestation. One abortion was reported as being performed on an unborn child between 25 and 36 weeks. About 11 percent of the women having abortions reported being married, and 7 percent did not report their marital status. Just under 48% of women having abortions identified as white/Caucasian, 40 percent identified as being black/African American, and the remainder identified as Asian/PI (3.5%), or other/preferred not to report (9%). As in years past, the vast majority of abortions happened in Ambulatory Surgical Facilities (20,710), with 102 occurring in the hospital and 81 happening in non-surgical clinics (most likely an abortion-pill only clinic that operated for a few months in NE Ohio in 2017 before getting a surgical license).  Overall, the use of the abortion pill has increased in Ohio since the FDA extended the pill’s use to ten weeks. Use of the abortion pill has increased from about 5% in 2015 to about 18% in 2016 to 25.5% in 2017.

Locally, abortion numbers were disappointing both as a region and in half of the counties that make up the geographical area covered by Greater Columbus Right to Life (Franklin, Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Union, and Pickaway Counties). The total number of abortions performed in Franklin County (the only regional ambulatory surgical clinic) increased from 4,476 in 2016 to 4,844 in 2017. It is worth noting, however, that local abortion numbers have tended to be very cyclical. For the first time since at least 2003, one abortion was reported as being performed in Delaware County (we cannot know where, but most likely at a hospital. It is worth noting that some hospitals report emergency procedures to save a woman’s life as induced abortion, a supposition which is supported but not guaranteed by the report of “other surgical” for this procedure). By county of the mother’s residence, the number of abortions increased in Delaware (from 132 to 149), Franklin (from 3158 to 3258), Licking (from 156 to 161), and Union (from 38 to 44). Counties with a decline included Fairfield (118 from 149), Madison (42 from 44), Morrow (20 from 24) and Pickaway (34 down from 42). Regionally, the number of abortions performed via non-surgical methods was 33.7%, a dramatic increase from 2016 (21%) and 2015 (5.3%). Of women who live in Franklin County who had abortions, about 36% identified as being white/Caucasian and about 45% identified as black/African American. Similarly, 15 women having abortions in Franklin County reported as being 15 or younger.

Several years ago, GCRTL started reporting on the abortion rate locally. Last year, we averaged about 12 babies lost to abortion each day. Sadly, the rate this year will climb to about 13 babies each day. However, this year we’ve also decided to look at the abortion rate in context of the live birth rate. In doing so, we’ve compared birth rates to abortion rates in every county in Ohio for the past ten years. We will release the project’s statewide numbers in coming weeks. For now, however, we want to share some of the local numbers. We compiled the numbers by adding the number of reported abortions to the number of live births and determining the percentage represented by abortion. It is important to note that the numbers do not tell the whole story, as miscarriage deaths are not recorded prior to 20 weeks. Fetal deaths after 20 weeks gestation are recorded in Ohio, but not necessarily broken down by county in an accessible way. So miscarriages are NOT included. However, we think that the figure gives us a new way to think about the local impact of abortion and to look at the trends.

Here is what we see locally. In Franklin County, about 19 of every 100 babies were aborted. In Delaware County, about 8 of every 100 babies were aborted. In Morrow County, about 9 of every 100 babies were aborted. In Union County, about 8 of every 100 babies were aborted. In Madison County, about 11 of every 100 babies were aborted. In Pickaway County, about 12 of every 100 babies were aborted. In Fairfield County, about 10 of every 100 babies were aborted. Statewide, about 17 of every 100 babies were aborted. The highest rate in the state was Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) with about 34 of every 100 babies aborted. The lowest rate in the state was Lawrence County, where just over 1 of every 100 babies was aborted. The Ohio Department of health determines the abortion ratio as a number of abortions per 1000 live births rather than as a percentage of the combined total, so if you are looking at their chart (page 5 of the report), it will be different. The Department of Health calculated the abortion rate as the number of abortions per 1000 women of child-bearing age (15-44) in 2017 was unchanged from 2016, with about 8.9 abortions per 1000 women.

While looking at the data provides an interesting snapshot into what is occurring in our neighborhood, it is only useful to the extent that we have adequate resources to go into the community with programs like sidewalk ministry, education, and referrals. It is not too late for us to reduce the number of abortions in 2018, but we need your help. To join our prayer program, visit www.gcrtl.org/pray. We also need to raise another $30,000 through the end of the year. If you can donate to make that happen, you can be taken to our secure giving partner to make a donation here. If you would like to bring one of our educational programs to your church, school, or group, you can also email us, here. 

Today, a Montgomery County judge ruled to uphold a 2016 Department of Health order to close the notorious Women's Med abortion clinic. The clinic is operated by the notorious Martin Haskell, who is partially credited with the surgical procedure known as partial birth abortion, which was so barbaric that it is not outlawed across the United States.

The judge ordered that a stay (legal term for a halt or postponement) on the ODH order be lifted in 30 days, unless the clinic files for an appeal. That gives the clinic 30 days to either close down or appeal the decision. 

We will have some more commentary in the next few days (including some observations on the ridiculousness that an unlicensed clinic has been able to operate for two years during a dragged-out legal process and that the judge gave them 30 days to continue operating illegally rather than order the immediate closure subject to appeal), but for now you can review the case online. 

We knew two summers ago that the abortion industry has Columbus City government in its pocket when Council Member Liz Brown proposed a local law to make it illegal to do anything that would “annoy or inconvenience” an abortion clinic owner, employee, patient, or other individual within a fifteen foot perimeter of an abortion clinic (except the proposal used "reproductive health care facility").The bill was so egregiously unconstitutional that the ACLU stepped forward to oppose the bill, noting in their testimony that despite opposing the unconstitutional bill, it was a staunch supporter of “abortion rights.” Unfazed, City Council members forged ahead until the 11th hour, when rumor is that someone from the DC office of Planned Parenthood or NARAL called and told them it was a bad idea, and they scrambled to “fix” it. We've covered that issue pretty thoroughly in the past.

That is why it was disappointing, albeit not especially surprising, when I received an email from Columbus City Council announcing its latest press release, “CITY OFFICIALS COLLABORATE TO PRODUCE STUDY ON THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF REDUCED ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE.”

Curious, and remembering our last run-in with City Council on the matter of "Reproductive Health Care," I opened the press release and read on. Council Member Liz Brown and City Auditor Meghan Kilgore jointly wrote a study on Title X in Ohio. One sentence in particular caught my eye, “Planned Parenthood is the sole Title X provider in nine Ohio counties: Athens, Lucas, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Summit, Trumbull, and Wayne.” To be clear, this is a press release from two Columbus City officials that is so focused on protecting Planned Parenthood’s access to Title X funding that it explores “problems” in counties that are not even contiguous to Columbus. The entire study only mentions Columbus three times (the cover letter uses it another seven times, mostly in relation to the positions that the officials hold). By contrast, the study mentions Planned Parenthood more than 20 times in just five pages, suggesting that it is pushing a “study” that is more of a defense of Planned Parenthood. Oddly enough, while the “study” gives every appearance of being a piece of Planned Parenthood propaganda, it does not cite Planned Parenthood one time. A reasonable person might question who actually wrote the report and how much help she received.

If you are not familiar with Title X, it is the money that the federal government gives out in the form of grants to entities to pay for things under the broad range of “Family Planning” in low income and uninsured individuals. It covers programs like contraception, std testing and (some) treatment, limited cancer screenings, and referrals and links to other care sources like infertility treatments, HIV care, etc. Pro-abortion groups are upset about a few changes to the program. One is a rule change that would let organizations that provide training in natural family planning or std testing qualify for part of the grant funds as indirect recipients as long as another recipient or individual recipient provided other “comprehensive” care. A second is a proposed rule change, which is still open for public comment until the end of July, would prohibit entities that are using Title X funding from directly referring women to abortion providers. Under the proposed rule, a doctor whose patient indicates she would like to have an abortion may provide her with a list of providers that includes abortion providers. The doctor is prohibited from providing only abortion providers and is prohibited from referring women who do not indicate that they want an abortion to abortion providers. It would also require Title X providers to document that they follow state and local laws pertaining to reporting child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, incest, intimate partner violence, and human trafficking. Planned Parenthood and abortion advocates have argued that this is a “gag rule” that will prevent women from accessing abortion. (Side note, if you would like to submit a comment in support of the rule, you can do so here. Remember that your comment will constitute part of the public record so others will be able to read it. You can comment anonymously).

Columbus is facing huge problems. The opioid epidemic is ravaging our communities and citizens. Our infant mortality rates are among the worst in the nation. Incidents of violent crime continue to be reported, and homicide rates are only barely lower than last years’ record-breaking murder rate.[1] Should a member of the Columbus City Council and the Columbus City Auditor be using taxpayer resources to make the case that a rule which will require Planned Parenthood to document that they follow Ohio and local laws about reporting child molestation, child abuse, rape, and human trafficking and prohibit its doctors from referring women who do not specifically request an abortion to abortion providers will hurt people in Richland, Athens, Trumbull, Wayne, and a few other counties? We think not. 


[1] On June 9, 2017, Columbus experienced its 58th homicide of the year. On June 11, 2018, Columbus experienced its 53rd homicide of the year. Source: Columbus Division of Police Media releases.